There is no love or devotion like that of a mother for her child – Vicki Reece

The above line highlights the mother-child bonding which is considered to be built of unconditional love. In contrast to this, nobody can imagine a woman thinking that she cannot handle being a mother, or that she shouldn’t have become a mother in the first place.

But these thoughts do occur to mothers-to-be and new mothers. Worse, women don’t talk about these thoughts because of fears about what people might think them.

About 70-80% women experience these “baby blues” for two days or up to a week. This mild form of depression is usually caused by hormonal fluctuations and lifestyle adjustment after the baby enters their life.

If a mother fails to form a bond with her baby even after one week, it could be a symptom of postpartum depression and can even be its worst form, postpartum psychosis.

Giving an insight into this psychiatric emergency, Dr. S Ananth, Psychiatrist, Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, says, “In this, new mothers are not able to connect with their baby. This is related to the hormonal imbalance which women go through after childbirth. They don’t feel any attachment with the baby. In some cases, the mother feels guilty that she is not able to take care of her child in a proper manner. On the other hand, the overall changes in their body leads some mothers to not liking their child. Where postpartum psychosis is concerned, the mother becomes delusional which can even lead her to kill her child.”

“This sort of depression can be treated with medication but only if initial screening was done during the pre-natal stage. The solution lies in educating the family first because they are the basic support of mothers-to-be and new mothers. Meditation, exercise, stress-free environment, and the most important factor husband’s support and love is essential,” says Dr. Ananth.