By Alan B. Densky, CH

 The majority of persons perceive postpartum depression as a condition affecting only the new mother. This, however, is not true. The whole family faces relationship issues that alter family interactions considerably. Depressed mothers who fail to get help frequently place their babies at risk for serious or deadly delays in growth and development.



The psychiatric name for this complicated condition is nonorganic failure to thrive. Nonorganic indicates that no physical cause for the baby's delays exists. Because of the mom's postpartum depression, she frequently stops meeting the infant's nutritional and psychological needs. Although the infant may cry for food at the beginning, he or she often gives up and stops relating to other people. This condition may result in malnutrition, starvation, or even death.



Physicians use developmental charts to follow a baby's physical growth with respect to height, weight, and head size. If a baby is in good health at birth, his or her size fits within the normal values on the growth charts. If the infant starts to have serious developmental delays, this will appear when tracking his or her progress against normal ranges. Once an infant's progress is lower than the fifth percentile, physicians get seriously concerned.



Other symptoms often appear before an infant's growth problems reach this crisis stage. The majority of babies who grow at a normal rate are interested in their surroundings. In contrast, babies who fail to thrive have little or no curiosity about their surroundings. These babies rarely make sounds or words; they have stopped trying to relate with their caregivers.



How much of a problem is failure to thrive? If not treated properly, the baby may starve, and even die. Although the infant may get just enough nutrition to stay alive, his or her heart, lungs, and brain do grow enough. Additionally, even if they are treated, these babies do not "catch up" entirely. They frequently acquire social problems or eating conditions, even when they finally start getting their needs met.



Babies who failure to thrive typically become gravely ill from malnutrition. They are often hospitalized for several weeks at a time. In some cases, they get so weak that feeding from a bottle is exhausting. They get feedings via a tube inserted in their stomachs, or even in their veins to get food!



The most tragic aspect of failure to thrive is that it can be easily prevented. If mothers with postpartum depression recognize their problem when it begins, they are able to seek help and do not have to subject their helpless infants to these horrific dangers. Indeed, studies have shown that nine-tenths of those mothers suffering from depression who get help will find healing!



A variety of approaches is useful in treating postpartum depression. Many physicians use medicines like antidepressants. These drugs are costly. Nursing mothers should also avoid them. Furthermore, these drugs can cause thoughts of suicide; these medicines should be used with extreme caution.



Usually, physicians encourage counseling instead of or in addition to medicines. Counseling, however, is costly. Additionally, it often requires a lot of extra time, and several weeks may go by before this treatment is successful. Unfortunately, if the woman's depression is severe, this may be too long for her baby. If the baby starts showing growth delays, extra treatment may be needed.



Fortunately, other non-drug therapy options are available. Two revolutionary, beneficial methods that usually yield positive outcomes much faster than counseling, and are not nearly as dangerous as drugs, are Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP and hypnotherapy for depression. NLP and hypnosis typically begin to help after even a single treatment. In addition, they are much less expensive than alternative methods.



Moms who suspect they have postpartum depression need to get help at once so that their babies are not at risk for critical growth delays. The seriousness of the effects on the infant mandates that any approach work quickly, and be very effective. NLP and hypnotherapy for depression are inexpensive, begin to work almost immediately, and are highly effective. Therefore, both of these treatments are perfect for treating postpartum depression.



Summary: Postpartum depression is depression that begins after childbirth. These new mothers cannot give their babies the caring they need to survive and thrive. This causes failure to thrive, a serious, possibly fatal condition, which hurts the baby. Moms who suspect that they have postpartum depression should seek help as soon as possible. Hypnotherapy and NLP for depression are inexpensive and have demonstrated amazing effectiveness.

Alan B. Densky, CH specializes in depression and stress related symptoms as a certified hypnotist and NLP Practitioner. He's helped thousands of clients since 1978. He offers hypnosis therapy for depression MP3s.