All people experience feelings of sadness. For most people, these times last for a few hours or days. Almost twenty percent of the world’s population, however, experience clinical depression, which causes depression that lasts for weeks, months, or longer. These feelings trigger the development of difficulties functioning in work, family, or interpersonal relationships, which can become severe.
Females who experience symptoms of depression after they become pregnant are sometimes diagnosed with perinatal depression. This problem can begin any time after pregnancy begins, or any time thereafter, until the infant is a year old. Most commonly, however, women who encounter this problem after childbirth are diagnosed with postpartum depression.
Perinatal depression or postpartum depression is linked with a number of factors. These factors may be physical. For instance, women with a personal or familial history of severe depression or other mental health problems are very susceptible to developing perinatal depression or postpartum depression. Moreover, alterations in hormone levels in postpartum mothers, like decreases in estrogen and progesterone levels, can result in this condition. After childbirth, thyroid problems may result in signs of depression such as tiredness, irritability, and hopelessness.
Sometimes, mental depression results from emotional issues.
