Being understanding, making her follow good food habits, helping her maintain physical fitness, being available, sticking around, being observant and letting her feel independent are best tips to help a new mother overcome postpartum depression.

Postpartum Depression also commonly known as Postnatal Depression is a disorder that follows childbirth and can affect both the male and female sexes. The condition usually refers to a situation where parents of a newly born, more often the mother have numerous mood swings that ultimately take a toll on her health and often lead to an unhealthy and negative environment at homes. Symptoms might include sadness, passivity, anxiety, irritability, episodic weeping and other such unexplained behaviors. A number of women today suffer globally with “Postpartum Depression” and most people are not even minutely aware of the meaning of this medical term, let alone the various negative mental and physical ailments that follow as consequences. This article talks about the many simple ways in which we as family, friends and relatives can be there to support a mother who is suffering with PPD.

Read More: Signs and Symptoms of Postpartum Depression

11 Tips to Support a New Mom with Postpartum Depression

Suggest seeing a Shrink

However the idea does not seem immensely appealing at first instant, it is a really effective way of helping the mother suffering from postpartum depression in coping with her continuously changing surroundings. Seeing a psychiatrist might help her speak more openly and thereby help her put things into perspective and thus judge her situation more wisely and make her realize that all is well and life does not need to change just because she has become a mother.

Be Understanding

Most of us are not completely aware of PPD and the suffering it causes but this only means we should learn to be more patient with her and try to cheer her up in every possible way.

Read More: 11 Foods that Fight Post-Partum Depression

Good food habits

We can never stop stressing on the need of proper and fitting food habits that help enliven our mood as individuals. Our diet and food habits also largely affect our temperament and thus play an important role in changing our mood for better or for worse, we must always try to remember this and feed her healthy food that makes her feel happy and at ease.

Physical Fitness

Always encourage her to stay fit and do your bit by reminding her of the importance of physical strength. Especially after all the pain and agony of the process of delivery a woman feels weak and exhausted , help her gain some stamina back and this new found energy is certainly going to assist in the process of easing her out of her depressive state of mind and body.

Guide her do not instruct her

Be an asset to her and not a liability. Help her in situations that actually require your inputs as families/relatives/friends, we sometimes tend to impose our opinions on the mother which can become burdening and also infuriating. Guide her if and when your help is asked of but let her evolve as a mother, it is her journey let her discover herself do not hide her beneath your impressions.

Read More: 11 Tips on How to Overcome Postpartum Depression

Make her feel Important

The news of pregnancy suddenly made her the superstar of the family, all eyes were always focused on her and all heads and hearts thought of her well being but the postnatal scenario takes the limelight completely off her when she needs the care and support even more .So, please make genuine efforts to make her feel equally important as the child.

Shun Body-Shaming

Do not tell her how she has gained all the weight that she will not be able to lose. Do not make her feel like a “good for nothing” person that cannot be of any help to anyone. Help her get back in shape and tell her it is normal and she will soon naturally be back to her earlier shape.

Let her feel independent

Making her count all that is being done for her and her child makes her feel incompetent and incapable, do not tell her what is being done for her but what she is doing right. Help her regain her momentum in life as well and tell her ways in which she can easily get back to her daily routine.

Read More: 101 Postpartum Depression Quotes

Be  Available

Try to be there for her in person rather than making promises of being there by her side. Physically staying around her to give her the mental and physical support she wants for is what you need to do. She can always use a shoulder to weep on and a family/friend to talk to. Your efforts and concern as people she has always connected with make her feel a significant relief and assurance.

Stick Around

Be there for her even when the condition persists. She might be looking for your support and care as family/friends during the time and if you make her feel neglected or you tend to give up on her she might just lose the little faith she must have in herself. Help her face her weakness and overcome them do not give up on her just yet.

Be Observant

Lastly and also most importantly be observant and astute enough to realize in the first place when one of your dear ones is suffering from PPD. Tell her it is not something that should be feared and suggest ways and methods to get out of it, tell her how hormonal imbalance along with numerous other factors accounts for the condition and it is gradually becoming very common so she need not lose hope.

Let us stick together as families, societies and people and help our peers cope with mental illness and not boycott them when they need us most.