Postnatal Depression Case Study

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During the second term my focus has been on developing my skills to become a more valuable member of the health visiting team. My previous career within emergency nursing means I find the drop in clinic setting to be the area I am most comfortable within and this unscheduled method of contact a familiar one. I have been assisting the health visitor (HV) or child health advisor (CHA) each week with at least one clinic to improve my skills within this setting. This enables me to see a wide range of more common concerns and queries on a high volume basis but within a setting that affords me the opportunity to ask a colleague for advice if I am unsure. I feel I am learning a diverse range of subjects that will better equip me to answer questions…show more content…
This inevitably impacts upon the family as a unit, and when a mother is bringing up the children alone as a military partner will during deployment, this fact is even more alarming. Postnatal depression (PND) is a common condition that can have a significant and sometimes long lasting impact on family life. It can have a detrimental effect on a woman's parenting capacity which in turn can have an adverse effect on the cognitive and emotional development of the infant. Similar to any episode of depression or low mood, depression after having a child affects the woman's feelings about herself and in turn may effect her interpersonal relationships. The expectation of society is that motherhood is a joyful and rewarding experience and these pressures can cause a new mother to hide her feelings for fear of judgement by those around…show more content…
Using a laminated card and by displaying the Whooley questions discreetly I have implemented them at each clinic I have undertaken since. It is essential that the HV is both confident and competent in the delivery of the questions and committed to exploring any concerning outcomes fully. It has been suggested that many new mothers will not disclose feelings of low mood due to the perceptions a health professional may have if she does. Edhborg (2005) suggested women who are depressed after giving birth often struggle with tremendous guilt over their depression and believe that it means they are a bad mother, this inhibits their likelihood to disclose feelings of low mood to a practitioner. I have seen mothers react after presentation of the Whooley questions, with a sheepish “No” on occasion. Sometimes the HV will delve further and sometimes they will not. I have also seen the questions be addressed at the end of a visit, when the HV is almost out of the door. Regardless of the answer this approach cannot be conducive to getting the best response or making her feel time is available to talk

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