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Postpartum Depression Linked to Increased Risk of Injury to Babies & Toddlers

Depression occurs commonly after childbirth. Baby Blues is a very common complaint after the birth of a child but postpartum depression can be a serious issue and must be addressed. Many mothers will experience mood swings, slight depression, and may have trouble concentrating.

Additionally the mother may also have difficulty sleeping even when the baby is sleeping. Loss of appetite is not uncommon. These symptoms usually start about 3 to 4 days after delivery and they may last several days. The new mother may be happy one minute and crying the next. This is known as Baby Blues.

The symptoms are normal and are usually gone after about ten days. Postpartum depression can last much longer. This depression can begin weeks or months after childbirth. Postpartum depression is an illness that requires treatment.

Symptoms can include the following:

# Sadness that is unexplained

# Frequent crying or tearfulness

# Restlessness

# Irritability

# Anxiousness

# Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities

# Loss of appetite

# Decreased energy

# Lack of motivation

# Difficulty sleeping

# Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or hopelessness

# Weight gain or loss

# Feeling that life is not worth living

# Little interest in the baby

Just as a side note, in addition to those symptoms some women have thoughts of hurting themselves and or the baby. This is postpartum psychosis and obviously is very serious.

Postpartum depression affects approximately 15 to 20 percent of women and 10 percent of men. Fathers of nine month olds seem particularly likely to develop symptoms of major depression. This may be related to financial stress or changes in the spousal relationship. Some husbands feel the wife is more focused on the baby than on him and this adjustment can be difficult.

Symptoms of depression include the inability to concentrate or focus. Irritability is also common. These symptoms can result in poor or inconsistent supervision and or enforcement of safety related rules.

According to a recent study infants and toddlers (3 months to 2 years) of mothers suffering with postpartum depression are more likely to suffer accidental injuries than other children in the same age group. It is possible that this is related to the mothers not properly safeguarding the children.

Socio-economic status, parenting styles, sex of children, behavior or temperament of the children had little or no bearing on the link between the depression in the mothers and the injuries in the young children.

The study indicated that children three years old and above fared better. This may be due to the fact that children of this age group are beginning to make their own decisions related to safety.

Self Published Book of Essays Scrutinizes Fatherhood and its Issues

One of the most important influences a person can have early on in life and even onwards is the inspiration that comes from a father. This pivotal role is defined mainly by a father-child relationship and most often shapes the future of their offspring.

Fatherhood carries with it a sense of great responsibility and accountability with fathers generally described as naturally protective and supportive to their families. The amount of interaction a father gives to his offspring has been proven to strengthen a child’s social stability, educational achievement and their potential for attaining strong marriages in adulthood. Such is the influence of a father’s love, guidance, presence and involvement.

Sadly, this image of fatherhood has changed in recent years as many men have become less and less accepting of the roles, responsibilities and challenges of being a father. The male parental role has not only become distorted, but has also mutated into the different varieties that we now know them to be. So what is the true face of fatherhood? Where, if ever, can we find the transcendent image of a father?

Self-published author Diane A. Sears answers these questions and more in her book, In Search of Fatherhood – Transcending Boundaries: International Conversations on Fatherhood. This collection of essays, from interviews of a group of men from diverse backgrounds and edited by Sears, explores the questions and issues directly and indirectly related to fatherhood that confront married, single, stay-at-home, long-distance, divorced, custodial, and non-custodial fathers.

Sears also brings focus on the parental roles and responsibilities of fathers, as the concept of fatherhood has been redefined over the years.

“Fatherhood is in crisis in today’s America, especially in the black community,” Dr. Hayward Farrar, a tenured Associate Professor of History at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University who reviewed Sears’ book, observed. “Since the 1960s fathers have been characterized as patriarchal, abusive, irresponsible, and absent. The courts increasingly view fathers as inherently unfit parents good only for a child support check. Tragically far too many fathers live meaningless without a strong family and community structure. Such structures are imperiled today.”

In Search of Fatherhood – Transcending Boundaries also highlights a call for divorced fathers to form a political movement to ensure equity in child custody and child support issues. Stephen Baskerville, in the book’s opening chapter – Father’s Rights are Father’s Duties – explains that fathers cannot secure their god-given rights to their children through individual action. He appeals to fathers to correct this situation through a broad-based movement modeled on the civil rights effort.

In Search of Fatherhood – Transcending Boundaries: International Conversations on Fatherhood, published by Xlibris, is a must-have and must-read handbook on the nuances of modern-day fatherhood and, perhaps, a guide on how men can reclaim their influential role as fathers.

About Xlibris
Xlibris was founded in 1997 and, as the leading publishing services provider for authors, has helped to publish more than 20,000 titles. Xlibris is based in Bloomington, IN and provides authors with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound, and full-color formats.

For more information, please visit the book publishers website, e-mail pressrelease@xlibris.com or call at 1-888-795-4247, to receive a free publishing guide.

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From the above data, the program administered and supervised by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security lacks a clear long-term sustainability, is aimed at short notice and with an entrepreneurial vision. For to have used the amount of the initial seed money to cover pensions for all participants in the targeted groups would take advantage of the retirement income and savings, pensions have been made available, some of the weakest members of our society. Instead, transfers the decisions of the administration of the program NASSITT where the money be better managed and invested in a ministry program would have a recipe for failure.

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