This report discusses the role of a midwife and the importance of addressing pre- and postnatal depression. It highlights the lack of healthcare facilities and high infant mortality rate in Africa. The report emphasizes the need for proper support and treatment for expecting mothers and new parents.
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Midwife UCAS Personal Statement
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Contents INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3 MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................3 CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................4 REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................5
INTRODUCTION A midwife can be referred to as a health professional who is trained and cares for expectingmothersaswellasnewbornsaroundtheirchildbirth.Theyhavevarious responsibilities such as delivering babies at home or at a caring canter or at home(Kataja and et.al., 2020). This report is based on midwife UCAS personal statement. The process as to how newborns are delivered is one of the main roles that midwives play along with other services that offer new mothers. Africa has poor health care and high rate of infant mortality. MAIN BODY Pre-natal care is a very important opportunity in the African society to address the major causes of infant as well as maternal mortality. It is important for the people living in Africa to overcome their taboo for pregnancy. Pre-natal depression is a serious illness that can not only interfere with the day-to-day activities of the expecting mothers. Most of the expecting mothers go through ups and downs throughout pregnancy. This is a completely normal thing but when this becomes a regular thing along with other negative emotions, it is important to provide the mothers with the necessary support. Some of the symptoms of depression include irritability, mood swings, sadness, sleep problems and a lack of energy. It is important for the expecting mothers to make a list of all their symptoms before visiting the doctor. In Africa, there is no proper health care facilities and high infant mortality rate along with low aftercare for both baby as well as mothers(Lydsdottir and et.al., 2019). This is because topics such as pre- and post-natal depression are generally not spoken about in the country. People see these topics as a taboo and women in the country are not educated on what to do when they feel like this. This is because most of the time they are not aware as to whom they have to speak when they feel like this. There can be various risks of not treating pre- and post- natal depression (Prenatal Depression, 2020). Therefore, it is important to take steps in order to treat depression. This is because not treating the depression can get worse and affect the baby as well. On the other hand, postnatal depression is a type of depression that is experienced by many parents post the delivery of the newborn. This is a common problem among new parents and can also affect the father of the child. Therefore, it is important to seek help as soon as
possible if the symptoms start getting worse. Some of the common symptoms of postnatal depression include a low mood and persistent sadness, lack of energy, withdrawing from contact with other people as well as problems in making decisions. Postnatal despair can be lonely, distressing and frightening, however guide and effective treatments are to be had(Steinig and et.al., 2017). These include self-help – matters you could try yourself consist of speaking for your circle of relatives and pals about your emotions and what they could do to help, making time for yourself to do belongings you revel in, resting on every occasion you get the hazard, getting as much sleep as you can at night, exercising frequently, and eating a wholesome diet,mental therapy – a GP may be capable of propose a self-help route or may also refer you for a direction of therapy, which include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and antidepressants – those may be endorsed in case your melancholy is greater excessive or different treatments have no longer helped. Although there were numerous researches into preventing postnatal melancholy, there is no evidence that there's something specific you may do to prevent the situation developing, apart from retaining as healthy a lifestyle(Takehara and et.al., 2018). But if the mom has a record of depression or intellectual health troubles or a family records of intellectual fitness problems after childbirth, a GP or the mental health crew must be consulted. CONCLUSION From the above report, it can be concluded that pre- and postnatal depression are common in both expecting mothers as well as new parents. It is important to adapt appropriate measures so as to address the problem. This is because otherwise, there can be serious consequences that the parents have to deal with. Teen moms are the most affected by prenatal depression and this can impact the baby in a negative way. Therefore, midwives have to support the expecting mothers in an effective way with the delivery of newborn children.
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REFERENCES Books & Journals Kataja, E. L. and et.al., 2020. Maternal depressive symptoms during the pre‐and postnatal periods and infant attention to emotional faces.Child development. 91(2). pp.e475-e480. Lydsdottir, L. B. and et.al., 2019. The psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) when used prenatal.Midwifery. 69. pp.45- 51. Steinig, J. and et.al., 2017. Antenatal and postnatal depression in women with obesity: a systematic review.Archives of Women's Mental Health. 20(4). pp.569-585. Takehara, K. and et.al., 2018. Prevalence trends of pre-and postnatal depression in Japanese women: a population-based longitudinal study.Journal of affective disorders. 225. pp.389-394. Online PrenatalDepression.2020.[Online].Availablethrough:< https://www.beaumont.org/conditions/prenatal-depression>.