Mental health problems are always unfortunately stigmatized and females are the most affected, but get least help. PTSD, Anxiety Disorders or Psychotic Disorders before pregnancy easily get attention but following group of stress disorders do not get much attention during or after pregnancy. Pregnancy or miscarriage both easily cause depression. The symptoms include sad mood, anger, blame game, and being jealous of all. Since most of her relatives are sympathetic towards her rather empathetic, it causes loss of self esteem and feeling of loneliness.
Depression after pregnancy: Even in 2020, birth of a girl child is an unwelcome event as domestic violence after marriage and during marriage and pregnancy is seen in some selected families in one form or the other. Once upon a time joint families with grandmothers, grandfathers newlywed couple had the advantage of having best counselors from child birth till their adolescence, but now due to increasing trend of nuclear families, even simple health instability of a baby, causes severe distress to lactating mother. Mother is severely depleted of proper sleeping hours. In such cases other family members must provide a protective shield to her, as among my clients I have found large number of lactating mothers working mostly in private sector getting a curtailed maternity leave, which as human beings must concern us all and severe punishment must be given to such companies in private sector or erring sleuths in government sector. Following core group of women need special counseling. Women who are pregnant but suffer from domestic violence or facing it now, or women who had abortions of any kind in past. Looking at the ratio of females to males in Kashmir, many pregnant mothers must be facing pressure to terminate pregnancy. Pregnant mothers who are diagnosed with depression or O.C.D, their medicine should be closely monitored by their respective psychiatrists. The ICDS or ASHA workers can play role of a catalyst .Adequate sleep for pregnant and lactating mother is the best gift we can give her. Lastly, caring of a new born should not be the responsibility of mothers only; it’s time fathers play a pro-active role. One of the greatest challenges facing the health care industry is the fight against mental illness. To begin with, serious conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety are often difficult to diagnose, but perhaps the difficulty in the treatment of mental health disorders is the societal stigma attached to the diseases. The reluctance of patients to seek treatment for mental health disorders disproportionately affects women because women are more susceptible than men to many common mental health conditions. Every patient—whether male or female, old or young, rich or poor—experiences mental illness in unique ways. Even though there are similarities in the symptoms and impacts of specific mental health conditions, women often face different challenges than men in how they perceive and experience symptoms, and also in how strategies are devised to treat the disorder. Here is a quick look at how women are affected differently than men by common mental health issues.
For women, taking that first step can be particularly challenging as women due to the societal pressures feel trong, nurturing caregiver for their families, friends, and communities.
Depression: More likely prevalent among women than men are some od the unique forms of depression as explained by the NIHM. Among the mental disorders tied to changes in women’s hormone levels are prenatal depression (depression occurring before and after giving birth, the latter known as postpartum depression ), premenstrual dysphonic disorder, and depression related to perimenopause. The Office of women’s health lists the symptoms of depression, emphasizing the differences in number, frequency, and duration of symptoms a given person will experience in the course of their illness. Common depressive symptoms include:
Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, uselessness, or emptiness
Crying frequently
No longer enjoying favorite activities
Loss of energy
Inability to focus, remember, or decide
Inability to sleep, sleeping too much, or struggling to get out of bed
Loss of appetite, weight loss, or overeating in an attempt to “feel better”
Thoughts of self-harm, death, or suicide
Persistent headaches, nausea, or other physical pain that doesn’t improve with treatment
Becoming easily annoyed or angered
Research funded by the NIHM discovered genetic differences in men and women who are affected by depression. The hope is that by determining the different causes of the disease in men and women, researchers will be able to create improved diagnostic tests and treatments based on gender. The NIHM defines General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) as experiencing “excessive anxiety or worry” for most days over a period of six months. Other anxiety disorders include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder (or social phobia), separation anxiety disorder, and phobia-related disorders (such as fear of flying, fear of heights, or fear of specific objects). While 19% of all adults in the U.S. report having experienced anxiety disorder in the past year, the percentage is much higher among women than for men (23.4% vs. 14.3%).Symptoms of anxiety disorder include the following:
Chronic irritability or nervousness
Feelings of impending doom or disaster
Racing heartbeat, hyperventilating, sweating, or trembling
Weakness or tiredness
Inability to concentrate
Sleeplessness
Stomach aches or other digestive problems
WHO estimates that worldwide, 10% of pregnant women and 13% of women who have just given birth experience a mental disorder, primarily depression? Prenatal depression, which encompasses both categories of women, impairs a woman’s ability to function and also hinders the development of the child. While pregnant women everywhere are susceptible to prenatal depression and other forms of mental illnesses, the problem is greatest in developing countries, where WHO estimates that 20% of mothers experience depression. Prenatal depression is exacerbated by poverty, migration, stress, and exposure to violence, according to research compiled by WHO. The organization emphasizes the need to integrate maternal mental health with general health guidelines, along with educating women about children’s health and reproductive health. Twice as many women in the U.S. are affected by eating disorders as men: 20 million vs. 10 million, according to figures compiled by the National eating disorders . The causes of the illnesses remain a mystery for the most, but researchers believe biology, psychology, and culture are all involved. Among the risk factors for developing an eating disorder are the following:
Being closely related to someone who has an eating disorder or other mental illness
Chronic dieting
Burning more calories than are ingested (negative energy balance)
Being diagnosed with Type-1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, including a pattern of missing insulin injections (diabulimia), can cause death..
The subset of prenatal depression affects some women within one year of giving birth to child. It is characterized by feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and tiredness that impact the woman’s ability to care for herself and her baby. Often, the first and most important step on the road to mental health is acknowledging the need to take action. For women, taking that first step can be particularly challenging as women due to the societal pressures feel trong, nurturing caregiver for their families, friends, and communities. The health care industry is continuing to discover the unique needs of women affected by mental illness in terms of treatment options and support services. Armed with accurate, up-to-date information on the most effective strategies for overcoming mental health challenges, women can be more empowered to reclaim the fulfilling, enjoyable, and purposeful lives, they so richly deserve. The role and responsibilities of AWWs and Helpers envisaged under the ICDS Scheme are as under:
To elicit community support and participation in running the programme.
To weigh each child every month, record the weight graphically on the growth card, use referral card for referring cases of mothers/children to the sub-centres/PHC etc., and maintain child cards for children below 6 years and produce these cards before visiting medical and para-medical personnel
Carry out a quick survey of all the families. To organise non-formal pre-school activities in the Anganwadi of children in the age group 3-6 years of age. To organise supplementary nutrition feeding for children (0-6 years) and the expectant and nursing mothers by planning the menu based on locally available food and local recipes. To provide health and nutrition education and counseling on breastfeeding/ Infant & young feeding practices to mothers. To make home visits for educating parents to enable mothers to plan an effective role in the child’s growth and development with special emphasis on a newborn child. To assist the PHC staff in the implementation of health component of the program viz. immunization, health check-up, antenatal and postnatal check etc. To assist ANM in the administration of IFA and Vitamin A by keeping stock of the two medicines in the Centre.
To share information collected under ICDS Scheme with the ANM. To bring to the notice of the Supervisors/ CDPO any development in the village this requires their attention and intervention, particularly with regard to the work of the coordinating arrangements with different departments. To maintain liaison with other institutions (Mahila Mandals) and involve lady school workers and girls of the primary/middle schools in the village which have relevance to her functions. To guide Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) engaged under the National Rural Health Mission. To assist in the implementation of Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) and motivate and educate the adolescent girls and their parents and community in general by organizing social awareness programs/ campaigns etc.
( The author is a teacher at Mawar Education Zone of School Education Department. Views are his personal) [email protected]
