Foundation urges support for women with postpartum depression
The founder of Friends 2 Lean on Global Foundation, Grace Edibo, has called on families and friends of women going through postpartum depression to do all they can to support
The founder of Friends 2 Lean on Global Foundation, Grace Edibo, has called on families and friends of women going through postpartum depression to do all they can to support them immediately after childbirth, noting that this is a critical time in their lives as mothers and that at this point they need family and friends around.
Edibo made this point during a walk for people undergoing postpartum depression in Abuja, emphasising that they should not be left alone in any way immediately after childbirth, which is the most delicate time of their lives. There is a need to raise awareness so people will really understand the depth of what these women go through immediately after giving birth.
She explained, "The signs to watch out for when women go through postpartum depression are head swings, crying for no clear reasons, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, anxiety about caring for the baby, including persistent sadness or emptiness.
"Others are loss of interest in things she loves, inability, guilt, self-doubt, difficulty bonding with the baby, withdrawal from family and friends, trouble sleeping or eating, intense sadness or hopelessness, and thoughts of harming herself or the baby. All these are situations that should give anyone concern," she said.
She added that most men are left helpless and do not know how to handle it, so they get angry with their spouses, which in some cases leads to the breakdown of the marriage. She is advising husbands and fathers to treat their wives with lots of understanding during this period, because it is a very delicate period for the mothers.
Speaking with a participant, Mrs. Nneka Ogbonna, a mother of four, said that when she had her first baby she experienced postpartum depression without knowing what it was, adding that in Nigerian hospitals mothers are not educated on postpartum depression, so she was not even aware that anything like that existed until she had gone through and survived it. ved it.
