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Postpartum Depression and Family Support, Health Channel

Family support is very important for overcoming postpartum depression. Parents, partner, aunts are the group that is going to help bring these patients out of depression.

Dr. Jila Senemar, Obstetrician and Gynecologist with Baptist Health South Florida, advises to relatives or any person next to the patients to avoid trigger words. “You don’ want to make them feel inadequate,” she says.

Transcript

Postpartum Depression and Family Support, Health Channel

What do you see in your practice from those patients who come in who have the family support behind? Those patients Ed they’re the ones that tend to come out of this depression the quickest and feeling the best. In the shortest time frame. So you need family support meaning closed parents, you know, aunts in-laws whatever you have, as well as spouses or partners. That is the group that is going to help bring these patients out of the depression. What about when the family indicates to you and I’d be willing to guess that there’s a tremendous amount of family members out there who would say this right away. “We don’t want to get in the way”. We know there’s a problem here but they’re they’re scared they’re a little fearful, how do you turn that around? > There is a fine line between making the patient feel worse and… you know. You don’t want to say the wrong things to the patient so we actually guide and counsel the family along with the patient so they know where the boundaries are and what trigger words per se to not use. And in other instances we have done therapy for the patient as an individual as well as counseling for the family. So they know how to cope with the patient. > What are some of those trigger words you don’t want to make them feel inadequate so you say you know you’re doing that wrong or I can know how to do it better or things to that effect you don’t want to make them any more feel more less than they already feel about themselves. >Is that difficult or do most people get it when you bring them in? Most people get it it’s just hard to put into effect. So you know you’re not you know I’m trying to be mean you’re not trying to say anything derogatory but you want to make sure that you do say it in the right context. So that these patients understand and the family gets it.

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