A number of factors that may contribute to postpartum depression. These include:

- Psychological and social factors, such as claims, obligations and responsibilities of motherhood. An inexperienced mother may fear that is inappropriate and not be able to live with their own expectations or those of others.

- Family factors, are also important, including the relationship of the mother with the father and the support it receives from others.

- Biological factors, including hormonal changes following childbirth.

What is postpartum psychosis?

Postpartum psychosis is a severe mental illness that occurs in approximately 1 in 500 births. Women suffering from this disease can have a family history of psychotic disorder or having suffered a psychotic illness themselves in the past. In most cases, the onset is in the first two weeks after delivery. The symptoms are usually an acute state of confusion, fluctuating mood, disorganized thinking and behavioral symptoms or psychotic hallucinations or delusions. These delusions often take the form of irrational concerns about the newborn. In some cases, the baby may be at risk due to illness of the mother, so, the medical evaluation is essential.

Treatment of postpartum psychosis is usually in the form of medication (antipsychotics and antidepressants). Sometimes you can use electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Depression is a mental illness when it occurs in the weeks or months after delivery is called postpartum depression.

- Between 10% and 15% of all women develop some form of postpartum depression that lasts more than two weeks.

- Over half of these women develop severe depression, when they do, treatment is necessary.

- The most serious depressions occur mainly during the first month after birth, but can occur later.

- Without treatment, postpartum depression can last for months.

Is it the same postpartum depression that the baby blues (“baby blues”)?

No. During the first days, weeks or months after birth is a period of physical and psychological stress for both mother and father. The mother will probably feel more, almost half of all mothers experience a brief period of sadness or mood swings about two days after delivery. This is healthy and natural is what we call the baby blues or “baby blues”.

Sit or lie with the newborn in your arms is one of the happiest moments in the life of any man or woman. This produces a feeling of joy and a sense of tranquility, after many months of waiting. The difficulties of pregnancy and labor pain are temporarily forgotten when parents pick up the child.

But most women also go through a period in which they feel insecure, vulnerable, sad or anxious. The sudden huge responsibility of caring for a new baby makes you feel fearful and inadequate mother. Mood swings are common. You may feel elated one minute and tearful, tired and irritable the next. This can also be of concern: not knowing what is happening or why are these feelings.

On the fourth day after birth, is common among mothers have baby blues, feeling hollow and be crying for no reason. This can happen at any time during the first week after birth and usually happens in one or two days when the mother has had a chance to rest and is better prepared for their new situation. Experience is important to distinguish the normal “baby blues” to postpartum depression.

At least five of the following symptoms have been present for a period of at least two weeks, at least one of these symptoms is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure.

(1) Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by the subject (eg., Feels sad or empty) or observation made by others (eg., Crying). NB: Possibly irritability in children and adolescents.
(2) Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all or almost all activities almost all day almost every day (either by subjective account or observation by others).
(3) loss or significant weight gain in the absence of plan (eg., Body weight changes in a month exceeds 5%), or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day. NB: In children, taking into account the absence of weight gain expected.
(4) Insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day.
(5) psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day (observable by others, not limited to subjective feelings of restlessness or being slowed down).
(6) Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day.
(7) Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day (not merely self-reproach or guilt about being sick).
(8) Diminished ability to think or concentrate or indecisiveness, nearly every day (either by subjective account or observation by others).
(9) Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan or suicide attempt or specific plan for committing suicide.

Here are the DSM IV  for the diagnosis of dysthymia:

A. Depressed mood most of the day, more than every other day for at least two years. In children and adolescents, it can be an irritable and duration must be at least one year.

B. When the person is depressed, it has at least two of the following symptoms:
(1) loss of appetite or overeating
(2) insomnia or hypersomnia
(3) decreased energy or fatigue
(4) low self-esteem
(5) poor concentration or difficulty making decisions
(6) feelings of hopelessness
C. During the period of two years (one year for juveniles) of mood disturbance, the person has never had periods over two consecutive months without showing symptoms of criteria A. and B.

D. During the first two years (the 1st year for children and adolescents) of mood disturbance, no episode of major depression was present, that is to say that disruption of the mood is not better explained by a chronic major depression or major depression in partial remission.

The diagnosis depressive disorder Not Otherwise Specified is used for depressive disorders character who do not meet criteria for major depression, dysthymia, for adjustment disorder with depressed mood or adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and mood depression (or when information is insufficient to clarify the diagnosis).

In January 2008, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, published an analysis of five studies on the use of music therapy on patients with depression. This was done by a group of researchers led by the . In four of these studies, a reduction in symptoms of depression among patients undergoing music therapy. In the fifth, there was no difference between those who received music therapy treatment and those who did not receive them. An important fact is that in the four studies that yielded positive results of music therapy interventions were carried out following a clear theoretical while the other study did not seem to have a clear vision of why the therapists were doing treatment or the theory behind it.

in April 2009 explored the findings of 23 studies and found that the evidence shows that music therapy may help lower blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety levels of cardiac patients. We also found some improvement in mood, these patients but found no improvement in heart patients suffering from depression caused by his heart condition. One thing that may be important is that the vast majority of these studies used prerecorded music. However, many researchers think that the music offered by a trained music therapist can offer superior benefits. In the case of heart patients is thought that the beneficial results of the music are the result of its ability to reduce stress. Since there is a close relationship between stress and depression is reasonable to think that music therapy could be helpful in the prevention and treatment of depression.

Stress and Beauty
Stress affects the skin and hair because when stress is mainly produce various hormones cortisol caused the remaining imbalance in hormones.

How stress affects your health and beauty
Stress affects us in many ways these are a few:

1 – When a person is under stress makes the neck and shoulders are tense what comes to be reflected in poor posture.

2 – Stress sometimes helps out spots on the skin because it makes it more vulnerable to the environment.

3 – Stress affects sleep and this causes the skin to lose freshness and appear dark circles.

4 – Some people bite their nails to be stress. Bite nails do not fit anyone.

5 – Contribute to the emergence of pimples and blackheads in susceptible people.

6 – Stress causes wrinkles. This is because it contributes to the micro-inflammation of the skin and irritates it and makes it more vulnerable to the sun and other aggressors. Over time skin loses collagen and form wrinkles and expression lines.

7 – The hair falls. Stress contributes to hair loss and it is believed that the early onset of gray hair.

8 – Stress can cause eczema and aggravate rosacea (cuperosis)

9 – lines may appear in the nails.

10 – Stress can cause psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis.

Besides the damage to your health, stress affects your beauty. One more reason to control it.