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Postnatal Planning

Whether your pregnant or have a little one at home knowing what to expect from your body after pregnancy in your postpartum weeks can help you make a smoother transition to parenthood. We provide pregnant women with flexibility, choice and continuity of care.

All of Healthy Women Medical centre’s Female Doctors have extensive experience looking after you once you’ve had you baby.

Understanding postnatal disorders

There are three different types of postnatal (or postpartum) emotional disturbance.

Postnatal blues (baby blues)

• The postnatal ‘blues’ (also referred to as the baby blues) is a brief period of emotional distress, which can occur between the third and tenth day following delivery. The condition is very common, occurring in up to 80 percent of women who give birth.

  The ‘blues’ is characterised by tearfulness, irritability, mood changes, anxiety, fatigue and feelings of sadness or loneliness.

  The ‘blues’ is a transient state with symptoms disappearing within a few days. Recognition, understanding, empathy and support from family, friends is necessary, however if the symptoms persist for longer than two weeks a woman should seek professional help.

Postnatal depression

• It is estimated that between 10 and 20 percent of women who give birth will suffer from postnatal depression, making it one of the most common conditions following childbirth.

  The onset of symptoms can occur at any time in the first year but mostly present within the first four months after delivery.

  Postnatal depression can be distinguished from feelings of being ‘down’ or the ‘baby blues’ in a number of ways. Firstly, there is the length of time for which the symptoms persist; a woman suffering postnatal depression will experience the symptoms consistently for a period of two weeks or more.

  Secondly, there is the severity of the symptoms. In postnatal depression the symptoms are disabling, affecting everyday functioning such as eating, sleeping and thinking.

Postnatal psychosis

• Postnatal psychosis (also called puerperal psychosis) is a rare and severe form of postnatal emotional disturbance. Only between 0.1 to 0.3 percent of women will be affected by this illness following birth (i.e. 1-3 of every 1000 mothers).

  Psychosis is a disorder of thought in which a person’s thinking patterns are unclear or disconnected from reality. Symptoms of postnatal psychosis usually occur suddenly and dramatically within the first three weeks following delivery.

  Postnatal psychosis is thought to be caused by psychological, genetic and biological factors. Women who have had previous psychoses are at greater risk, as are women who have a personal or family history of mental illness (eg. Schizophrenia, manic-depression).

  Despite postnatal psychosis being a very acute and severe disorder, the outlook is generally favourable as most women make a complete recovery.

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