Practicum Journal

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Practicum
In this journal, I will generally reflect on a patient who showed the signs of Postpartum depression in my practicum experience. I will consider the patients both personal and medical history. I will also look at the patient’s drug therapy and recognized treatments. I will also look at the patients follow up in response to her health. I will explain the meaning of the patient’s postpartum depression and on how this might affect the entire patient’s family.
Postpartum depression is considered a perinatal feeling and consternation disorder (Henshaw, 154). It can also be defined as a significant desolate episode occurring within the first few weeks and up to six months after one has given birth. This condition affects one’s ability to care for their baby and to perform their daily tasks at the same time. Postpartum condition when not treated early enough it may last for many months and sometimes can even go for years a dangerous state. Women with this condition experience mood, behavioral changes, and the general life outlook. Postpartum depression begins at pregnancy, immediately after birth and then proceeds to within the first year after birth (Diamond, 503). Considering symptoms, this condition is associated with depression which encompasses sadness, concentration difficulty sleeping difficulty and thoughts of hurting oneself. Other signs include depression, anxiousness and mood change disorders. The mother experiences anxiety of staying alone with the baby and also the fear of being an ill mother.

The woman thinks of hurting and dropping the baby. She always feels irritated and cannot sleep at the same time the baby sleeps (Van Hover, 262). Based on treatment, the medical model which focuses on the individual’s medical condition and at the same time considers women to be passive and are suffering from biological deficits. Is considered. Then the economic, social and political context of the mother should also be checked. Rather than strictly using the medical model, psychological treatment can also be used, together with light therapy (Johnstone, 595). For patient follow up a Physical therapist, and social worker can be employed to monitor the mother’s behavior and response to treatment.
The child’s mother experiences severe mood shifts against friends and family; this mood shift is also carried through to the newborn baby. She feels exceptionally worthless among the family members with continuous panic attacks. The mother experiences intense anger and sometimes feels withdrawn from family, friends and the general public interactions.
Work Cited
Henshaw, Carol. Modern management of the perinatal psychiatric disorder. RCPsych Publications, 2009.
Diamond, Milton, and Arno Karlen. Sexual Decisions. Little Brown, 1980.
Johnstone, Eve C., David Cunningham Owens, and Stephen M. Lawrie. Companion to Psychiatric Studies E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2010.
Van Hoover, Cheri. “Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth; By The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. New York: Touchstone, 2008. 370 pages. $15, paperback.” The Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health 53.5 (2008): 477-478.