Developmental Transition of Motherhood: Treating Postpartum Depression Using a Feminist Approach
✍ Scribed by Darcie Davis-Gage; Julie Jenks Kettmann; Joy Moel
- Publisher
- American Counseling Association
- Year
- 2010
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 114 KB
- Volume
- 9
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1524-6817
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
During the developmental lifeline for women, some individuals are affected by postpartum depression. This article describes the treatment of a Latina woman experiencing postpartum depression. The authors illustrate the feminist approach using counseling interventions that incorporate the client's developmental level, cultural background, and gender. They discuss supporting research for this approach and provide its implications and recommendations.
Childbirth is an important developmental transition for individuals and their families. During this developmental transition, many changes occur, including establishing parental roles, attaching to the infant, and managing the changing relationships with extended family and friends. For some, this process can be complicated when the mother experiences postpartum depression and subsequent struggles with her adjustment to motherhood.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000, p. 422) defined postpartum depression (PPD) as a major depressive, manic, or mixed episode with an onset within 4 weeks after childbirth. PPD is characterized by depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, and a constellation of several other symptoms including sleep and appetite disturbances, difficulties concentrating, and feelings of worthlessness. These symptoms have been found to be associated with significant impairment in the mother's social and vocational functioning and with impediments in the newborn's social, emotional, and intellectual development (Goodman & Gotlib, 1999). Meta-analyses revealed an average prevalence rate for PPD of 13% (O'Hara & Swain, 1996). More recently,