4 ms·

I wonder how much of post-party depression is caused by isolation. In the past, new mothers were surrounded by a whole village of women who would help care for

I wonder how much of post-party depression is caused by isolation. In the past, new mothers were surrounded by a whole village of women who would help care for the woman and the baby. Many times now, women are isolated with maybe the father present. And even then there are pressures to get back to work. This isn’t to discount or minimize postpartum depression, but if we as a society set up people for failure which require them to take a pill to get better, maybe something needs to be rethought.

astrange 3y ago
PPD is more common in developing countries where this isn't true.
- throwaway2037 3y ago
  I tried to Google about this, but found nothing. Can you share a study? I am interested to learn more.
  - astrange 3y ago
    Wikipedia has relatively recent sources, 2017. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032717307231?via%3Dihub https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01650... > Additionally, prevalence was significantly higher in women from low and middle income countries compared to women from high income countries (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4–2.2). The overall pooled prevalence was 11.9% of women during the perinatal period (95% CI 11.4–12.5). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_depression#Epidemiology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_depression#Epidemio...
    - senttoschool 3y ago
      Are we assuming that low and middle income countries still live in villages? For example, in Malaysia, most people no longer live in villages but it's counted as a middle income country.
      - astrange 3y ago
        I suppose I don't know which countries are more or less alienated from their extended families, but the US is surely more than averagely sprawled since it's so large and so suburbanized.
      - pertymcpert 3y ago
        You know by “village” they don’t mean a literal village right? It’s a metaphor.
pertymcpert 3y ago
Good question I guess. It's not fixed by being surrounded by a village. A village helps, but if you've never experienced PPD before then let me elaborate. PPD at its worst can bring psychosis. Read that again, psychosis. This is not something you can hug to make better.
rs_rs_rs_rs_rs 3y ago
> I wonder how much of post-party depression is caused by isolation. I don't know how we would have managed the little one in the first years just the two of us. It really does that a village to raise a child, literally and figuratively.
- Tade0 3y ago
  I can tell you from experience: barely. My daughter went to daycare at exactly 18 months, but it was quite a ride before that. I work for home so I was there for my family, but let's just say that my productivity was sacrificed to do that. I have no idea how single parents manage it.
Caligatio 3y ago
Without any data, I suspect the incidence rate of PPD is unaffected by social factors but having a support system definitely helps mitigate the effects on the family (i.e. more hands to help with the baby). Fortunately my family has never had to deal with it but it's definitely not some minor illness for people.
- rzmmm 3y ago
  Quickly looking at the research, seems you are right. Like most diseases, it's interplay between genetics and environment. Social support is less important risk factor, while factors like marital satisfaction and partner's depression are more important. For women, adverse events such as loss of a loved one, husband's loss of job or serious economical issues seem to be important too (Escriba-Aguir et al. 2010). This is also quite concordant with the fact that PPD is more common in less developed countries, as mentioned in another comment.

astrange 3y ago

PPD is more common in developing countries where this isn't true.

throwaway2037 3y ago
I tried to Google about this, but found nothing. Can you share a study? I am interested to learn more.
- astrange 3y ago
  Wikipedia has relatively recent sources, 2017. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032717307231?via%3Dihub https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01650... > Additionally, prevalence was significantly higher in women from low and middle income countries compared to women from high income countries (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4–2.2). The overall pooled prevalence was 11.9% of women during the perinatal period (95% CI 11.4–12.5). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_depression#Epidemiology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_depression#Epidemio...
  - senttoschool 3y ago
    Are we assuming that low and middle income countries still live in villages? For example, in Malaysia, most people no longer live in villages but it's counted as a middle income country.
    - astrange 3y ago
      I suppose I don't know which countries are more or less alienated from their extended families, but the US is surely more than averagely sprawled since it's so large and so suburbanized.
    - pertymcpert 3y ago
      You know by “village” they don’t mean a literal village right? It’s a metaphor.

pertymcpert 3y ago

Good question I guess. It's not fixed by being surrounded by a village. A village helps, but if you've never experienced PPD before then let me elaborate. PPD at its worst can bring psychosis. Read that again, psychosis. This is not something you can hug to make better.

rs_rs_rs_rs_rs 3y ago

> I wonder how much of post-party depression is caused by isolation. I don't know how we would have managed the little one in the first years just the two of us. It really does that a village to raise a child, literally and figuratively.

Tade0 3y ago
I can tell you from experience: barely. My daughter went to daycare at exactly 18 months, but it was quite a ride before that. I work for home so I was there for my family, but let's just say that my productivity was sacrificed to do that. I have no idea how single parents manage it.

Caligatio 3y ago

Without any data, I suspect the incidence rate of PPD is unaffected by social factors but having a support system definitely helps mitigate the effects on the family (i.e. more hands to help with the baby). Fortunately my family has never had to deal with it but it's definitely not some minor illness for people.

rzmmm 3y ago
Quickly looking at the research, seems you are right. Like most diseases, it's interplay between genetics and environment. Social support is less important risk factor, while factors like marital satisfaction and partner's depression are more important. For women, adverse events such as loss of a loved one, husband's loss of job or serious economical issues seem to be important too (Escriba-Aguir et al. 2010). This is also quite concordant with the fact that PPD is more common in less developed countries, as mentioned in another comment.