C-Section & the Impact of Post-Partum Depression

Many women experience post partum depression. For some women, the post partum depression may be directly related to the sudden need for a cesarean section. As a woman who will experience, or has experienced, a c-section birth, it is important to understand how this surgical birth of your infant will impact your overall health.

Emotions fluctuate extensively during pregnancy. For women who expect to give birth by vaginal delivery, the sudden news of a c-section is often met with a variety of emotions. What may have been anticipated as an exciting experience has now turned into an experience in which you feel anxious, fearful and frustrated. As an expectant mother, or a mother who recently gave birth by c-section, it is important to understand these emotions are a normal part of the birthing process.

While you may feel cheated by the need for a c-section, it is healthy to approach the process as a birth option. In fact, statistically, one in four women, today, is choosing to give birth by cesarean section so, you are not alone. While some degree of depression and anxiety are normal following a c-section, it is the emotions that seem to linger and impair your ability to adequately focus on being a mother that may indicate a complication in terms of post partum depression.

After your c-section, it is important to allow yourself to feel the raw and negative emotions associated with the birth option. Feelings of anger, resentment, sadness and even just simple pain are all permissible. Allow yourself to feel those post partum emotions. But, in addition to feeling those emotions, reach out to other women you may know who have experienced a c-section as they can provide insight into not only the emotional and psychological issues but can also assist you with general questions regarding you physical recovery.

In your town, there may also be local support groups that offer guidance, support and counsel for women who may be experiencing post-partum depression after their cesarean section. Seek out those support groups and attend at least two meetings to get a feel for what type of support they may offer.