Giving birth to a baby can be an eventful and an emotional journey in the life of a woman. She will be going through emotions like extreme excitement, joy, fear and anxiety. In some cases, the condition maybe even worse than these and may result in a more complex condition. The pregnant woman can get into a stage of depression following the birth of a child. A good number of women across the world have shown the tendency to develop minor depressive symptoms following the birth of a child. These include symptoms like mood swings, involuntary crying and difficulty in sleep. The depressive symptoms begin within the initial two to three days of the delivery and these may last up to a period of almost 2 weeks. In some cases, the women may experience a more severe and a longer lasting effect, in extremely rare but serious cases, the Post partum depression may turn into a more complicated form known as Post partum psychosis.
The reasons for the development of the symptoms could be the physical changes that the body of a female undergoes during the days of pregnancy, childbirth and after delivery. There is a high of hormonal imbalance going on in the body of the female. The turmoil of oestrogen and progesterone in the body leads to variation in the mood and general nature of the female. Other important causes could be the emotional issues that a woman goes through during the pregnancy period and after childbirth. Deprivation of sleep following delivery (for taking care of the child) and handling a child single-handedly can make a woman anxious, frustrated and overwhelmed with her emotions. The female may feel insecure; she may find herself less attractive and may feel like struggling with her identity. She may have the feeling that she has lost control over her life. Any of these above mentioned issues can lead to post partum depression (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2016).
If we consider the people of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Islamic culture, the causes for Postpartum depression also include improper breastfeeding, the birth of the first child, insecurity about one's own body image and weight, unhealthy relationships with mothers in law and higher age of marriage (Green, Broome, & Mirabella, 2006). It has been seen that a huge population of the United Arab Emirates women do not consider the Post partum depression as a psychological illness, rather they consider the condition a result of the Evil eye or some ‘Jinn’ affecting them. It is thus important to create awareness among these women regarding the condition and educating the Healthcare workers for an early diagnosis of the condition and timely help for a rapid cure (Ghubash, & Eapen, 2009).
Stay at home mums become more depressed following a child birth than their working or employed counterparts. The reason behind this can be the fact that the working mothers get to spend some time with the real world outside their homes dealing with different people, situations, emotions and other important aspects of daily lives. They get time to be their selves after stepping out of their house. They return to the life that they had prior to the birth of the baby. This gives them a sense of satisfaction and a feeling of normalcy. They enjoy being themselves for almost 8 to 10 hours in their work place. This also has a positive effect on the mother- child relationship. The mother, when separated from her child for few hours, years to return back to her child. She gives her best to give her child all the time she has after returning home. The sense of responsibility towards the child increases manifold. She understands and appreciates the bond between her and the child in a more positive and a stronger manner.
On the other hand, a stay at home Mom remains confined within the four walls of her house and every waking hour of hers is devoted to the child. She feels like being the only care taker for the child. The fact that she has to take care of the child for a longer duration than the father makes her frustrated. She has to spend sleepless nights taking care of the new born. In the post partum days, a woman needs lot of love, care and support. A stay at home mom feels ignored and often burdened. She sees herself as unattractive, she develops a negative body image of herself which makes her feel inferior. The more she drowns herself into taking care o her child, the more depressed she becomes. This form of depression may be more severe in women who were working prior to delivery and had to go on a career break for a considerably longer period of time following child birth. Such women feel that their child is the reason for them losing their independence, financial stability and social status. She fails to see herself at the equal level to that of her husband. She does not have any time for herself, she feels cut off from the world outside and this leads to the development of a feeling of isolation in the women. Such women tend to be more depressive and suffer for longer than the employed women. The life of a stay at home Mom changes completely following childbirth. The only thing that remains for her is taking care of the child; her world revolves around the child. She does not get time for herself. All these things make her feel isolated and lonely (Valleskey, 2015).
Not sufficient research was carried out for determining the prevalence rate of Post partum depression among the women in United Arab Emirates. In order to identify such group of women, a research was conducted with 125 Islamic women staying in the UAE who have delivered a child in the recent time. 20% of these women demonstrated mild to moderate levels of Post partum depression. In a different study, 10% showed severe levels of symptoms of Post partum depression (Yehia, Callister, & Hamdan-Mansour, 2013).
It can be said that the prevalence of the condition in the United Arab Emirates is equal to the other developed countries in the world. However, there are certain differences in the cause of such depression among the women of the United Arab Emirates and other nations. The cause for such difference could be the difference in the educational status and family values among the women belonging to different parts of the world. It has been observed that the cases of post partum depression in the United Arab Emirates include more women who are expats, in other words, who are not the natives of UAE. The main reason behind this could be the language barrier that expat women face. Not knowing a local language makes life difficult for anyone, if the case be of a mother of a newborn, things become way more complicated than expected. These women find it difficult to ask for help and to communicate at the time of need. Consulting the doctor also becomes a challenging matter for them. It is thus important to understand the condition and discuss about it with a broadminded approach, then only it will be possible to tackle this serious psychological issue in a timely manner.
Various non profit organisations and support groups are working in the United Arab Emirates to help women suffering from this condition. These groups consist of different women who have been through similar experiences in their post partum period. Being in a group of women having similar experiences provide strength to the women. These women also learn new techniques of overcoming such depression.
References
Ghubash, R., & Eapen, V. (2009). POSTPARTUM MENTAL ILLNESS: PERSPECTIVES FROM AN ARABIAN GULF POPULATION 1. Psychological Reports, 105(1), 127-136. http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/pr0.105.1.127-136
Green, K., Broome, H., & Mirabella, J. (2006). Postnatal depression among mothers in the United Arab Emirates: Socio-cultural and physical factors. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 11(4), 425-431. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13548500600678164
Mayo Clinic Staff,. (2016). Postpartum depression Causes - Mayo Clinic. Mayoclinic.org. Retrieved 19 April 2016, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postpartum-depression/basics/causes/con-20029130
Valleskey, B. (2015). Stay-at-Home Moms More Depressed, Angry and Sad, Study Says - Metro Parent.Metro Parent. Retrieved 19 April 2016, from http://www.metroparent.com/daily/parenting/parenting-issues-tips/stay-home-moms-depressed-angry-sad-study-says/
Yehia, D., Callister, L., & Hamdan-Mansour, A. (2013). Prevalence and Predictors of Postpartum Depression Among Arabic Muslim Jordanian Women Serving in the Military. The Journal Of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing, 27(1), 25-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/jpn.0b013e31827ed6db
