Baby Blues or Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression, also known as postnatal depression or “baby blues,” is a type of depression that can develop after a woman gives birth. It’s a serious mental health condition that affects around 10-20% of new mothers.
The symptoms of postpartum depression can include the feeling of sadness, hopelessness, and low self-worth; lack of interest in the baby or other activities; difficulty bonding with the baby; sleep disturbances; anxiety; and thoughts of harming oneself or the baby. These symptoms can be intense and debilitating and can significantly impact a woman’s ability to function, care for her baby, and enjoy her new role as a mother.
The cause of postpartum depression is not fully understood. It is believed to be a combination of several factors, such as hormonal changes, physical and emotional stress, lack of support, and a history of depression or other mental health issues.
Treatment for postpartum depression typically includes a combination of therapy and medication. Many women find that talking to a therapist or counselor can help them understand and cope with their feelings, while medication can help to reduce the symptoms of depression. Support groups specifically for new mothers with postpartum depression can also be beneficial.
It is also essential for the woman’s family, friends, and partner to provide emotional support for her and be aware of what postpartum depression is and how to help her get the support she needs.
After Giving Birth Depression: PICOT Question
A PICOT question is a format used to develop a clear and focused question for a research study. PICOT stands for Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Time frame.
The structure of a PICOT question typically includes the following elements:
- Population: This element specifies the group of people being studied, such as “pregnant women,” “elderly patients with arthritis,” or “children with asthma.
- Intervention: This element specifies the treatment or intervention being studied, such as “an exercise program,” “a medication,” or “a therapy.
- Comparison: This element specifies a comparison group or the current standard of care, such as “compared to no treatment,” “compared to a different medication,” or “compared to a different therapy.
- Outcome: This element specifies the outcome or result being measured, such as “pain reduction,” “improvement in breathing,” or “increase in physical activity.
- Time frame: This element specifies the time frame for the study, such as “for 12 weeks,” “throughout pregnancy,” or “for one year.”
An example of a PICOT question:
Do females between the age of 18-35 years discharged from the hospital after childbirth (p) who participate in a nurse practitioner home visit educational and assessment program (i), as opposed to non-participation in the nurse practitioner home visit educational and assessment program (c) have a decreased incidence of postpartum depression (o) within 90 days of hospital discharge? Creating a PICOT question can help to focus the research study and ensure that the question is relevant and answerable. It can help guide the research process and determine the appropriate methods and data analysis.
Search Strategy
To locate the recent high-quality evidence, the PubMed database was utilized. Only articles published after 2012 were eligible for the given evidence-based practice (EBP) project. The preference was given to empirical studies. However, one systematic literature review was selected as well to provide an overview of the selected topic. The keywords used: postpartum depression prevention, postnatal depression, nurse home visits.
Evidence Assessment
The selected sources provided a slightly different type of evidence. For example, Milani et al. (2017) utilized the clinical trial quantitative research design with a large sample (n=276). The aim of their study was “to investigate the effect of home visiting on postpartum depression” (Milani et al., 2017). Their findings can be categorized as Level II evidence: it is of high-quality and is associated with strong practical recommendations. At the same time, the study by Werner, Miller, Osborne, Kuzava, and Monk (2015), provides the Level I evidence: the systematic review of randomized control trials provides the highest-quality evidence as it is filtered, pre-appraised, and exclusive of substantial biases. No significant limitations and drawbacks associated with the study designs in the selected articles were observed. The findings allowed researchers develop new hypotheses and formulate questions for the future research.
Overall, it seems there is a sufficient amount of evidence related to the given EBP project. Yet, a large part of the articles are outdated, and it is difficult to locate a source that includes all stated keywords and provides primary evidence at the same time. Nevertheless, it is possible to say that this issue may be related to an inappropriate use of keywords. Moreover, it is worth noticing that the analysis of evidence of different levels obtained by using both qualitative and quantitative tools can be beneficial for the research outcomes.
References
Milani, H. S., Amiri, P., Mohsey, M., Monfared, E. D., Vaziri, S. M., Malekkhahi, A., & Salmani, F. (2017). Effect of health care as the âhome visitingâ on postpartum depression: A controlled clinical trial. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 8, 20.
Werner, E., Miller, M., Osborne, L. M., Kuzava, S., & Monk, C. (2015). Preventing postpartum depression: Review and recommendations. Archives of Womenâs Mental Health, 18(1), 41â60.