Individual, Community, and Population Health
Postpartum depression (PPD) refers to a complex combination of emotional, physical, and social changes that occur after childbirth in certain women. PPD is an example of major depressive disorder starting four weeks after birth. The degree to which depression is diagnosed depends not only on the period between delivery and initiation but also on the major depressive disorder. This form of mental illness is associated with chemical, social and cognitive changes that occur during a young age. The term identifies a set of changes in the body experienced by many new mothers. In addition, medical practitioners might consider prescription and counseling services to manage PPD (Tabb et al., 2019). After delivery, chemical changes lead to a rapid decrease in hormones. There is still no clear link between the drop and the depression. However, the levels of reproductive hormones are known to increase during pregnancy before decreasing dramatically three days after giving birth before they fall back to their level before pregnancy. This study’s primary objective was to determine the factors impacting depressive episodes in US mothers with the focus on lower-income moms using a 4-tier Social Ecological Model (SEM).
Identifying Strategies for the SEM Prevention Activity Matrix
Recommendations
Community-based dialogues and training are examples of the programs that can ensure that mothers change their religious and cultural beliefs to guarantee their protection from undesirable PPD. Cislaghi et al. (2019) analyzed three different case studies to help understand societal norms changes. For instance, the enlightened authors considered the Community Empowerment Program (CEP) in Mali. Specifically, Tostan, an NGO in West Africa, endeavors to support changes in society-led public customs to guarantee that the residents within the region lead quality and sustainable lifestyles. Tostan has conducted surveys at Control group (2013), Midline (2015), as well as Endline (2017) in the district of Kulikoro, Mali, for eight participating and four communities. In all, 1796 participants were interviewed throughout the three waves. The sample stratified gender, age (18–30; 30–45; 45+), and type of involvement in the study.
The CEP will empower women within society and ensure that they oversee the group’s health promotion. Mothers who take part in the programs develop skills and knowledge to use the existing social entities to ensure that they protect themselves from the undesirable consequences associated with the PPD and other related psychological conditions. Also, such sittings provide an avenue for susceptible women to express their perception of PPD, including their perceived likelihood of suffering from the potentially harmful effects associated with the condition. The CEP initiative enlightens society members about the complex nature of PPD. This includes the alternative measures that would empower women to safeguard themselves from the undesirable consequences related to the unpleasant psychological issue experienced after birth. Unfortunately, although the program is beneficial to society, conflicting cultural beliefs within the public make it difficult for the project to realize its long-term goals. Also, the lack of adequate resources to facilitate the initiative undermines its success. Thus, scholars need to conduct regular and comprehensive research studies about the controversial CEP to maximize the associated privileges while minimizing the perceived limitations.
Although the CEP is beneficial in reducing the lactating mothers from PPD, the regional government needs to collaborate with the other key players such as the international health-related bodies. This would guarantee that they provide enough support to reduce the cases of PPD in the global sphere. Furthermore, the parties will need to organize regular educational workshops to enlighten the potential participants about their distinct duties and significance towards the venture’s accomplishment. Consequently, the knowledge will help in decreasing the cases of mental health conditions associated with birth.
The improvements recommended in this piece uphold the ICPH principles. The implementation of the program will depend on the accessibility to high-tech equipment such as ICT. Bölte et al. (2019) indicate that the ICPH acknowledges the benefits associated with taking advantage of the advancing technology in overseeing the success of the controversial initiative. For example, applying information communication technology (ICT) will help share all the key actors’ essential information. Moreover, investing in the high-tech transmission tool will ensure that the susceptible young mothers have reduced chances of suffering from the mental health conditions’ unpleasant concerns upon giving birth.
Conclusion
Postnatal depression is among the most common and fundamental health problems, mostly during childbearing processes. Notably, it is the responsibility of every community member as well as the administration officials and the international bodies to ensure that the vulnerable women within the society feel safeguarded. This will protect women from the psychiatric condition that is more prevalent among young lactating mothers. Specifically, the 4-tier Social Ecological Model (SEM) application will enable the potential performers to identify the specific risk factors that increase the susceptibility of the unfortunate mothers. Similarly, the findings after evaluating the SEM results also inform the decisions made towards safeguarding the public from the hardships associated with PPD.
References
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