The Impact of Media on Children and Adults Post-Partum Depression

The Impact of Media on Children and Adults Post-Partum Depression
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The Impact of Media on Children and Adults Post-Partum Depression
Most women experience emptiness or sadness following childbirth in what is referred to as postpartum depression (PPD) or “baby blues”, and this condition can last from between 3 and 5 days to weeks. According to Nwebube et al (2017), mothers who are depressed, anxious, and stressed during pregnancy not only experience distress that affects their lives but also the lives of their future children. Such children also have increased chances for developing depression and anxiety, sub-optimal cognitive development, and behavioral issues such as to conduct disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Nwebube et al., 2017). Saha and Das (2017) have defined PPD as moderate to severe depression among women following childbirth. This condition is common particularly among new mothers around the world and has a prevalence of between 10 and 15 percent (Saha & Das, 2017). Myers and Johns (2018) note that PPD is often associated with several detrimental children and adolescent outcomes that could result from disruptive effects on the quality of mother-to-child relationships. Research in this problem has failed to investigate the long-term effects of the relationships between mothers and their children as well as the intergenerational effects that could arise following PPD. Another area of concern that has attracted research interest is the impact of media on children and adults’ PPD. Besides social media has been shown to have a positive impact on mothers’ experience and could reduce PPD. This paper explores the impact of media on children and adults’ post-partum depression to inform on ways of addressing the challenges mothers face after childbirth.
The effects of PPD may range from mild to severe and adverse impacts on women, especially new mothers. O’Connor et al (2019) argue that PDD during pregnancy and postpartum time is a common phenomenon that has adverse effects on mothers and their children. This is one of the most critical mental disorders in women during a post-delivery period and is directly related to the adverse effects on mothers, their children, and families in general (Chi et al., 2016). In China, the population of mothers affected by depression is significant and research findings have shown that attachment styles and depression could play a critical role in improving screening and the development of the interventions (Chia et al., 2016). Saha and Das (2017) have found that social networking platforms such as Facebook are effective tools that can be used to prevent and treat PPD. In their research, the authors have analyzed the views and awareness level of individuals in Bangladesh about the condition and the effects of using social media during the postpartum duration in reducing the chances of PPD. Saha and Das (2017) have also discussed the possible interventions that can effectively reduce the chances of women developing the condition in low-income countries.
Social isolation has been identified as one of the risk factors that increase the chances of pregnant and post-partum mothers developing P...