MEXICO- It will be because these are better times for women with more laws for equality or to denounce gender aggressions; because of the mandatory political quotas or simply because the first pill against evil was recently approved in the United States —vanguard on many issues.
The fact is that more and more women accept and speak clearly: “I had postpartum depression.”
For years, the subject had been a taboo subject. Particularly in Mexico, the silence has been such that in a study by the National Institute of Psychiatry Juan Ramón de la Fuente places the figures of the case in a very wide range: between 30 and 70% of women.
Three out of 10, according to the number of complaints; seven out of ten, based on a calculation of black statistics, the cases that are not reported for fear of negative judgments (Oh, he doesn’t want the son!, it is whispered), due to ignorance or because they consider that being sad is to some extent normal point.
Eliesheva Ramos, a communicator in Mexico City, believes that the approval of the pill zurzuvae (zuranolone) by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 4 will help to raise more talk about the subject, although it has not been authorized in Mexico.
Zurzuvae is the first oral medication indicated to treat postpartum depression (PPD) in adult women; until now the treatment was only available in the form of an intravenous injection and only in some medical centers.
DPP is considered a severe depressive episode that occurs after childbirth, but it can also start during the last stages of pregnancy.
Twenty years ago, when Ramos gave birth to her first daughter, she did not know how to ease her sadness. Although the girl was planned, desired and prepared for months at the moment of truth she felt a total unease, a hole in her stomach.
“It was the most horrible thing in the world. It lasted me about two months, ”she recalls. “I would get into the shower and start crying: it was my refuge; Outside, with my husband, my mother-in-law, my sisters-in-law, I appeared normal because they are of the idea that you have to be strong and tough and get ahead”.
Postpartum depression is a serious and life-threatening condition. in which women feel sadness, guilt, worthlessness and even, in severe cases, thoughts of harming themselves, can disrupt the mother-infant bond, argued Tiffany Farchione, director of the Center for Evaluation’s Division of Psychiatry. and FDA Drug Research.
“Having access to an oral medication will be beneficial for many of these women dealing with extreme and sometimes life-threatening feelings.”
The issue has been controversial. Prior to the authorization of zuranalone, group and individual psychological therapy treatments were (and are) used in the US for mild or moderate depression and, for severe cases, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
But when they realized that the results took weeks to show, they started using intravenous drugs like brexalone and from there they jumped to the intravenous.
Treatment for each woman in the US depends on the results of a test known as the “Edinburgh Scale.” In Mexico, this level of care does not exist in public hospitals, despite the fact that there are factors related to poverty that make women feel depressed.
In the direction of Epidemiological and Psychosocial Investigations of the National Institute of Psychiatry, they detected that factors such as violence, disease, hard work or the lack of resources for basic needs mainly affect women and that represents more probabilities of suffering from PPD.
“Other risk factors are very similar to those reported in developed countries, such as previous histories of depression, anxiety, low social support, prenatal stress or a poor relationship with a partner,” says Pamela Patiño, a researcher at the National Institute of Psychiatry.
Olivia Duque had her first daughter at the age of 17. By the time she turned 19, she already had dps. The first time she cried and withdrew into herself because she had no support from her family to face her tasks. She gave it to herself and that’s how she felt:
“My partner didn’t worry about anything or accompany me to the doctor or ask how I was feeling,” she recalls.
With the second girl, between diapers, bottles and vaccines, she had suicidal thoughts. Although they only crossed her mind in moments of special tension, such as when her husband blamed her for being irresponsible, he hit her and she tried to abort her, but none of the herbs she took from her worked.
“When he was born I got so desperate that I would go out into the yard and pull my hair out and cry,” he recalls. “I couldn’t go out with my friends or do anything and I felt so alone.”
Over time, she learned to live with her daughters and today she is a happy mother of two, aged 17 and 19, and accepts that she had a difficult period of DPP.
Dr. Patiño acknowledges that the idealization of motherhood has been a problem in treating the disease. “It is believed that everything is happiness and satisfaction with a child and that has made it difficult to accept the fact that many mothers experience contrary feelings.”
Rebeca Castorena, now 63 years old, remembers that she was depressed every time a baby was born to her. When she felt worse it was with the third daughter because it was not planned, the device failed and the world up while she also dealt with the misunderstanding of her husband who did not understand why “having a united and beautiful family”, she was feeling bad.
“You have everything, what’s wrong with you?”
Confused and guilt-ridden, she moved on. It was not until recently that she found out that there was something called DPP and that it could be treated, through her work in a doctor’s office. Today she believes that the new generations will better cope with the problem, with or without a pill.
“But you have to start by recognizing it,” he sums up.
Keep reading:
- Seasonal summer depression: what is it and what are its symptoms
- How the first pill approved for postpartum depression works