Just be a bit patient and tolerant towards her. Just make sure
she is not suffering from this:
Postpartum Depression (PPD)
A serious condition that requires treatment from a health care
provider. With this condition, feelings of the baby blues (feeling
sad, anxious, afraid, or confused after having a baby) do not go
away or get worse.
There are three types of PPD women can have after giving
birth:
The baby blues happen in many women in the days right after
childbirth. A new mother can have sudden mood swings, such as
feeling very happy and then feeling very sad. She may cry for no
reason and can feel impatient, irritable, restless, anxious,
lonely, and sad. The baby blues may last only a few hours or as
long as 1 to 2 weeks after delivery. The baby blues do not always
require treatment from a health care provider. Often, joining a
support group of new moms or talking with other moms helps.
Postpartum depression (PPD) can happen a few days or even months
after childbirth. PPD can happen after the birth of any child, not
just the first child. A woman can have feelings similar to the baby
blues - sadness, despair, anxiety, irritability - but she feels
them much more strongly than she would with the baby blues. PPD
often keeps a woman from doing the things she needs to do every
day. When a woman's ability to function is affected, this is a sure
sign that she needs to see her health care provider right away. If
a woman does not get treatment for PPD, symptoms can get worse and
last for as long as 1 year. While PPD is a serious condition, it
can be treated with medication and counseling.
Postpartum psychosis is a very serious mental illness that can
affect new mothers. This illness can happen quickly, often within
the first 3 months after childbirth. Women can lose touch with
reality, often having auditory hallucinations (hearing things that
aren't actually happening, like a person talking) and delusions
(seeing things differently from what they are). Visual
hallucinations (seeing things that aren't there) are less common.
Other symptoms include insomnia (not being able to sleep), feeling
agitated (unsettled) and angry, and strange feelings and behaviors.
Women who have postpartum psychosis need treatment right away and
almost always need medication. Sometimes women are put into the
hospital because they are at risk for hurting themselves or someone
else.
Latest news relating to PPD:
Wednesday November 24, 2004
Mum with postpartum depression cuts off babys arms
PLANO (Texas): A woman with a history of postpartum depression told
an emergency operator she had cut off the arms of her baby
daughter, then waited calmly until police arrived, authorities
said.
Authorities found Dena Schlosser, 35, and the fatally injured baby
on Monday after the child's father called a day-care centre and
asked them to check on his wife and daughter in this Dallas
suburb.
Day-care workers called the police-fire emergency number after
talking with Schlosser, and an operator then phoned the
mother.
The operator asked Schlosser if there was an emergency, according
to tapes released by police. Schlosser calmly responded:
Yes.
Exactly what happened? the operator asked.
I cut her arms off, Schlosser replied, as the hymn He Touched Me
played in the background.
Child-protection authorities said the mother had shown signs of
postpartum depression in the past, but there had been no signs of
violence.
Authorities said when they arrived at the family's apartment, they
found the nearly 11-month-old baby in a bedroom with her arms
severed. Schlosser, covered in blood, was sitting in her living
room. The child died at a hospital.
It was not immediately clear what instrument was used to sever the
baby's arms or why the baby's father asked the day-care centre
employees to check on his family.
Schlosser lived at the apartment with other family members,
including her two older daughters. The girls, ages six and nine,
were at school and their father was at work when police arrived.
AP
