Postpartum depression in first-time mothers over thirty-five

¶ … Psychotherapy on Postpartum Depression

The concern over women of advanced maternal age (over 35) giving birth has had a long history. There are many that think it is dangerous, and not just for the physical health of the mother, but for her mental and emotional health as well. Much of this has to do with the fact that there are many risks that come with having a baby, and the older the mother is when she has her first child the harder it often is for her. This is especially true of women who are over the age of 35, but some women have babies when they are in the late thirties or their forties with no apparent ill effects. Nevertheless, the concerns are very real and should not be ignored by women over 35 who are considering having their first child.

Throughout this paper, many of the issues that these women face will be addressed, but the focus will remain on fatigue and depression, as these seem to be two of the main complaints that are had by women of advanced maternal age. Why these complaints are so prevalent will be discussed, as well as the purpose behind this study and the theoretical framework that it deals with. Also discussed will be the methodology that will be used to study this issue and what type of findings would likely be seen by study of this subject. Postpartum depression is a very serious issue and for women of advanced maternal age it is often more prevalent and much more severe than it is for younger women. This does not mean that younger women cannot have problems with postpartum depression, but only that older women see it more often, which is why they will be the focus of study here. Psychotherapy can help some of these women, but not all of them respond to it and that issue must be addressed as well.

A review of the literature will also help with some of the lack of understanding that most people have about first-time mothers over the age of 35 and the mental and emotional difficulties that they face. How this type of data would be analyzed and what should be done for research in the future where this subject is concerned will also be dealt with in the following pages to ensure that there is a complete understanding of the importance of the problem, what research has already been done into it, and what should be done for the future. This will help to make sure that women over the age of 35 who are considering becoming first-time mothers are aware of the risks that they will be taking so that they can get help if they find that they need it as their pregnancy advances or after the baby is born. Many of them are not aware of psychotherapy and what it can and cannot do for them when they suffer from postpartum depression, which is becoming a serious concern in today's society.

Significance of the Problem

The main problem with this is that women over the age of 35 are considered as being of 'advanced maternal age.' This does not mean that women over 35 should consider themselves old, but only that they are reaching the upper limit for childbirth and that things that might have been easy for them in their twenties will be more difficult now. A women's brain chemistry can be affected as well as her physical shape, and this can lead to postpartum depression. While this, as well as fatigue and irritability, are somewhat common in all first-time mothers, they can be very pronounced and even somewhat dangerous for women over 35, and the risk increases even further for women who are over 40 when they have their first child.

It becomes necessary, therefore, to look into the problems that many of these mothers have with postpartum depression and try to help determine either how these problems can be avoided or how they can be treated once they occur. It is likely that there is no way to completely avoid the fatigue and depression that many of these women face, but finding out if there are any type of specific attitudes or beliefs that these mothers have that seem to lead to fatigue and depression will help find ways to treat this problem and protect these mothers from potentially harming themselves or their children it is not likely that many of these women who experience postpartum depression will actually do harm to anyone, but postpartum depression can be very serious and women who find themselves dealing with it and not getting the support that they need from others sometimes do harm themselves or their children. This is, naturally, a very serious concern and because of this it is necessary to look into this issue and determine what can be done to reduce the risk of these types of things happening to these women and their brand new babies.

Nursing Management of the Problem

The theoretical framework for this issue and the way that nurses address it should deal with three individuals and their beliefs. Imogene King and the Theory of Goal Attainment is very important for many of these mothers because they believe that dealing with everything that they already have in their lives and having a child is one more goal that they wish to achieve (King, 1991). Because of this, they often refuse to admit that they have difficulty with postpartum depression or fatigue because it would make them appear that they have not reached their goal.

Mercer and the Maternal Role Attainment should also be part of an understanding by nurses when it comes to this problem because many women feel that this maternal role is part of what makes them whole and they must attain it to be complete individuals (Mercer, 1985). While many women realize that this is not true with a look at it logically, they still have a strong need to be a mother and fulfill the role that many of them believe they were created for.

Erickson should also be addressed, as his Stages of Development have much to do with women and how they perceive having children (Erickson, 1963). They do not believe in stagnating and instead want to generate new individuals who will be able to go on and live for them as they grow old and their children grow up. This is part of ensuring that the human race will continue and a new generation of individuals will be available when the older generation begins to pass on.

It is important to understand how serious fatigue and postpartum depression can be for these women who decide to become first-time mothers at 35 years of age or older. The main hypothesis for this type of issue is that these women will experience fatigue and postpartum depression at a higher rate than women who give birth when they are younger.

Postpartum depression is the serious depression that often comes to women after they have had a baby. They may be sleep deprived and their hormones are having difficulty readjusting to their prepregnancy levels. Because of this, there are many confused feelings that these women have to go through and often times they feel very despondent and alone. They often feel as though no one understands them and this can lead them to very painful thoughts of harming themselves or their children. Usually, postpartum depression is relatively mild and does not lead to any type of actual dangerous activity.

However, women who are over the age of 35, and particularly women who are over the age of 40, often have higher rates of postpartum depression that is very severe and can lead to dangerous thoughts and feelings either towards themselves or the child that they have just had. Because of this, it is very important that this issue be studied and that determinations of what causes this and what can be done to help these women who suffer with these issues be made so that tragedy does not strike. Psychotherapy can help with this but it does not always help every woman that has this problem, so care must be taken to find all possible ways to help an individual that is struggling.

Findings from studies of the past have shown that women over 35 years of age were definitely at greater risk for postpartum depression and fatigue when they chose to become mothers. This was largely due to the fact that women have more difficulty recovering from traumatic experiences such as childbirth as they get older. Not only do their bodies not recover as quickly, but their mental and emotional states often do not recover as quickly either. Due to this, these women often struggle with painful feelings that others would not have to face.

Another finding was that women who were farther advanced in age had more difficulty than women who were only 35 years of age. In other words, a 35-year-old woman and a 50-year-old woman would not have the same experiences during pregnancy and childbirth, and the woman who was 50 years old would have a great deal more difficulty emotionally on average then the woman who was only 35 years old.

This is not to imply that all women have difficulty as mothers when they get older. However, information and research does indicate that there is a greater chance of these older women having difficulty both physically and emotionally with their pregnancy and childbirth. Findings of this nature, however, are sometimes difficult to determine because many of these women are used to being in control of themselves and their environments. They do not wish to admit that they have any kind of problems and even given a survey or questionnaire that they must deal with and will be kept strictly confidential does not necessarily make them comfortable enough to completely admit to the problems that they have faced in the past.

This could affect the data that has been collected in studies to some degree but in general most individuals will answer truthfully enough that the data can be considered valid.

Where education is concerned, it is very important that women who are of this age group and are intending to become mothers be informed by their doctors of the risks that they may be dealing with. This is often done for physical risks such as gestational diabetes and birth defects, but is often not done for the mental and emotional problems that these women sometimes face. Much of this has to do with a lack of understanding about fatigue and postpartum depression. There are still doctors in this country that believe it is all in a woman's head and does not actually exist. However, postpartum depression is starting to be looked at more seriously and because of this more and more doctors are coming to terms with the fact that it is a real illness that must be discussed. Education of these women is extremely important to avoid potential tragedy in the future and to help women enjoy their pregnancy and childbirth experience, as well as their new baby, as much as they possibly can.