(Mirror Daily, United States) – Postpartum depression is a real disorder that affects the lives of lots of mothers worldwide. But there was little known about the factors that trigger the mental health issue until now that is. According to a team of Belgian scientists, postpartum depression could be detected and mothers to be could start therapy before it becomes a serious issue.

Erica Jancelewitcz, a mother that struggled with the horrible mental health problem, declared that at first, she was afraid of telling anybody that something was wrong with her. The young, fresh mother, came home after giving birth and started to feel anxious and sad, not being able to sleep properly at night.

But she thought, as many other women probably do, that something is wrong with her. So she decided to live for five years with her ever changing emotions and deepened depression. Until one day when she gathered up the courage of telling her doctor how she felt.

That is when she first learned of the existence of postpartum depression. According to Jancelewitcz, she was never informed about the disorder while she was pregnant. Due to her lack of education on the subject, she was not able to seek proper treatment sooner, and she ended up suffering for quite some time.

And there may be many more women in her situation right now. But a team of Belgian researchers discovered that postpartum depression could be detected, thus improving the wellbeing of thousands of mothers to be.

According to their findings, women that show signs of having issues with their self-esteem, or that deal with mood swings during the last two trimesters are predisposed to developing postpartum depression.

They continue to say that doctors should start implementing psychological screening in their routine tests because when diagnosed early, postpartum depression is easier to manage.

The “Preventative Task Force” recently recommended that all pregnant women should get screened in the United States. And a mental health maternal therapist agrees with the government’s decision.

According to Beth Shelton, every woman just expects that everything will be perfect, a page ripped right out of a fairytale. That they will bring their newborn child home, and they will start a whole new, happy life.

But things are not always as we expect them to be. Lots of women end up not being tested, or even informed about postpartum depression. And this sort of thing happens because of a lack of awareness of the disorder, among both doctors and patients.

Image source: Pixabay