The maternity It is a pivotal stage for any woman: it is clear that life takes a turn even before the moment of childbirth. Facing this moment can be rewarding for some people, however, for others it is not so easy to cope with.
In that framework, the depression It is a very common condition, as observed by the professionals consulted by Infobae, who left a series of recommendations to deal with the distress and the uncertainty -which they consider normal at this stage- and, thus, enjoy parenting.
“In many cases, depression precedes pregnancy and continues afterward. It may happen that obstetricians do not take it into account and it is not diagnosed, because some women do not talk about it: they consider that if they are not happy about giving birth they are bad mothers and they feel like guilt or something that makes them uncomfortable in the face of other people’s expectations,” the doctor explained Elsa Wolfbergpsychiatrist and member of the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association (APA).
How do psychoanalysis approach these paintings? What are the tools to overcome? “We usually have supportive, encouraging interventions, helping mothers to have expectations. The advice, in general, is that the woman let herself be guided by her desires, by her sensitivity and not by the perfect mother model, because that does not exist. We have to think that with motherhood a new life cycle begins,” Wolfberg said.
Secondly, the psychiatrist called for pregnant or parenting women to “try to share their experience with peers. To that end, there are many entities that accompany and have the availability and intuition to see how each person feels. It is an enormous support to share the uncertainties and fears with other pregnant women by setting up groups to accompany each other with the coordination of a professional.”
For its part, Josefina Saiz Finzi, APA member psychoanalyst and parenting specialist, in dialogue with Infobae, He added: “Depression during pregnancy is a very serious issue and, furthermore, observable with the diagnostic finesse that is available to professionals who work with research data. There are situations that come from behind, from the past, about grief, losses or painful situations such as migration and family violence.”
Faced with this situation, the specialist offered advice: “The depressed mother cannot be alone. She must have a family group to help and accompany her, whether direct family or caregivers who are close to the babies and are part of the support network. In addition, we must raise awareness through talks, therapeutic spaces and scientific studies.”
Under these precepts, the professional postulated: “We try to guide the way out of depression with talks and talking about what mothers feel. This gave us very good results. Talking and opening up is therapeutic. Pregnancy must be demystified as the ideal and wonderful state of a mother; It is a situation with many alternations, feelings and difficulties. Pregnancy can overlap a situation that is not seen because, sometimes, the pregnant woman does not talk about her moods and it is not expected that someone will be depressed at this stage since in theory it is a loving, festive and desired situation. However, it doesn’t always turn out that way.”
To its turn, Maria Teresa Calabreseendocrinologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, told Infobae: “A very important factor is to mentally prepare for what is going to come. If one is not prepared, that psyche is devastating and it is difficult to create the defense mechanisms necessary to go through this stage of parenting in the best possible way.”
For Calabrese, motherhood implies “a very big change. A child is for life and, as some patients say, you have to be attentive 24/7 to a person who is going to depend totally on adults. Not only from the mother: it is also important that the father participate in parenting and do not think that this is something only for the mother. Otherwise, there is no mind or body that can reach it and that is where tendencies towards anxiety or depression appear.”
In that tone, the expert noted: “The role of the obstetrician, pediatrician or neonatologist is very important to create spaces where parents can expand on what is happening and, if necessary, refer them for a consultation with a psychoanalyst specialized in this problem. In that case, we usually work with the partner, the baby, the grandparents or whoever is necessary to help ensure that this does not lead to postpartum depression or, what is even more serious, psychosis.”
Recently, a scientific study conducted by experts from the University of Missouri, in the United States, provided relevant data on the effects of depression on motherhood. The work, which was published in the specialized magazine Infant and Child Development, stated that mothers “with depressive symptoms tend to take longer to respond to their child during the back-and-forth dialogue between them.”
Nicholas Smith, one of the authors of the research, explained: “The significant finding was that mothers who were more depressed took longer to respond to their children compared to mothers who were less depressed. Mothers and children are in sync. “Children who were slower to respond to their mother often had mothers who were slower to respond to the child, and children who were faster to respond to their mother had mothers who were faster to respond to the child.”
To reach those conclusions, Smith and her colleagues listened to audio recordings of more than 100 families who participated in a child development program for children between 14 and 36 months with family incomes at or below the poverty line in the United States. Some of the mothers involved were struggling with depression, and in these cases, experts documented how much time passed between responses to dialogues with their children.
“We found that the time gap between responses generally shortens between mother and child as the child grows, and we also found that the mother’s time tends to predict the child’s time and vice versa,” he described. Smith. And he added: “In the future, we plan to further study the dialogue response time of the same people who were recorded in this study when the children are in prekindergarten and also when they are in fifth grade of primary school to examine how These effects manifest themselves later.”
According to the author, “the overall goal is to better understand how mother-child interaction works, as well as the underlying mechanisms and potential factors at play in such cases.” In that tone, Smith closed: “Once we identify what factors drive successful developmental outcomes and what factors potentially harm children’s development, we can better identify those who are at risk and then tailor potential interventions.”
When analyzing the results of this study, Dr. Wolfberg considered: “Initial children’s dialogue is usually through non-verbal language. What matters to the child is the cadence and tonality of the voice, not the words and meaning. If the woman is depressed, she does not have expressiveness and emotional dialogue with her son and becomes as if inexpressive.. At this stage, there is a consonance between the child’s intention and the need for the adult to accompany him in that intention. Otherwise, the child begins to despair and cries.”
On the same level, Saiz Finzi remarked: “If there is depression, there is a risk for postpartum. When the mother has the baby, she needs her maternal sensitivity to capture needs, and her depression can remove her from that maternal capacity. So, this is the first risk we found. Furthermore, she may be a mother who does not contain her emotions and cannot help the child regulate his own. These babies can remain, in some cases, closely linked to their mother’s sadness and respond throughout life with attitudes and behaviors that favor possible depression for them.”
In closing, Calabrese added that depression can influence and impact the newborn: “They become more insecure and have a hard time evolving. Babies with fathers who are going through very difficult situations reach maturity later. Therefore, “It is very important to address the situation to prevent cognitive problems in children.”.
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