A mother is always happy after the birth of her baby. She lovingly cuddles it and welcomes herself to this new world of parenthood. However, some mothers might be experiencing the other way. Instead of being blissful about the event, they tend to cry and be sad about it. So why thus this irony happens? Actually, it is quite normal for this to occur; however, if it persists more than the postpartal period then it can be considered as postpartum depression.

Postpartum Depression is a form of clinical depression that mostly affects the females. This probably occurs as a response to the overwhelming feeling of childbirth and probably related to hormonal shifts as estrogen, progesterone, and corticotropin-releasing hormone levels in her body decline.

In addition to the overall feeling of sadness, the woman may notice extreme fatigue, inability to stop crying, increased anxiety about the baby's and her health status, insecurity, psychosomatic symptoms (like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea), and either depressive or manic mood fluctuations.

Low self-esteem may be a major contributor to the occurrence of the disease. A woman do have a high chance of getting it if she has a history of depression, a troubled childhood, stress in the home or work, and lack of effective support people. Sometimes the differences between a woman wanting a pregnancy and her partner not wanting it could trigger the disorder.

Prediction of the occurrence of the depression is difficult especially before birth. It is due to the variety of reactions elicited during birth. But if can be identified, counseling will be beneficial and helpful to prevent the symptoms. For the woman who have not been identified to be at risk for the disorder, it is important to discover the source of the problem immediately as the symptoms develop.

The woman may need further counseling to integrate the experience of childbirth to her life. It is important to identify the problems and allow the creation of solutions to those. For if not, the disorder will persists and may lead to a more advance form of it, Postpartum Psychosis. Postpartum depression treatment also includes the initiation of antidepressant medicines to relieve the symptoms of the disease immediately.

The role of the woman's partner is highly important to the prevention of this. The support he will be giving is greatly needed to enable the woman to recover emotionally from this overwhelming event. Financial security will also play a big factor to the occurrence of it. If the mother will be anxious to the expenses of having a baby (like the hospital fees, diapers, and infant formula), it is most likely that the mother will think about it and the focus of her attention will be directed to it instead.

The birth of a child is a very important and at the same time, a very stressful event for a mother. A supportive husband and relatives will help her to cope up to the stress that this event will give. For if not, the mother will likely have the disorder; affecting the relationship of both partners and most importantly, the relationship of the mother to her baby and its emotional growth.