‘Look at your health from the perspective of wellness and not illness’
Director of Family and Primary Health Care Services, Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton
Director of Family and Primary Health Care Services, Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton

-says Dr. Hamilton, speaks about Postpartum Depression

ACCORDING to the Mayo Clinic, “postpartum depression (PPD) is not a character flaw or a weakness. Sometimes it’s simply a complication of giving birth. If you have postpartum depression, prompt treatment can help you manage your symptoms and help you bond with your baby.”

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Chronicle, the Director of Family and Primary Health Care Services, Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton, said one of the complications of pregnancy, even though it may be normal, is all of the biological changes that the body goes through and some women suffer from transient or short-term depression.

According to her, some people are able to recover without the help or intervention of medical personnel, whereas for others, it can become a permanent medical condition.
Dr. Hamiliton said, “What you have are the same symptoms of a person who maybe going through a normal depressive disorder.”

She explained that those women can also experience a lack of desire to participate in most routine activities that would have provided any satisfaction to them. One of the most dominant emotions that most postpartum women portray is silence.

She explained that postpartum depression isn’t something new, but there are much more cases that are “popping up” across Guyana and people are much more aware of the term and what it means. She also stated that the Ministry of Health has restructured the family health manual that looks at the management of pregnancy.

According to the director, special emphasis is placed on this condition at the primary healthcare level, which is where most of the women have their encounters during pregnancy.
“We have now begun to institute a checklist that allows women to be monitored for postpartum depression and it is now going to be a part of the normal routine care that is given to every pregnant woman during pregnancy and the post-partum period,” she said.

She further stated that the revised family health manual requires that a test be done to diagnose persons who are suffering from PPD.

Dr. Hamilton stated that the “the test will be done in two parts; the woman will take the self-test first and then the health worker will look at it and give a score. That score will allow us to determine what your next step is. If the score is found to be at a level where the woman needs an intervention, the healthcare worker will begin the process. Based on what is required, that will determine whether they need to refer them for further care from the mental health department.”

Dr. Hamilton further noted, “one of the things that can never be underrated is that we also need women to be educated and informed enough so that they can speak out when they are having these challenges. Mental health on the whole is something that we are now pushing more as a ministry.”

Dr. Hamilton asked that women speak up, seek care and recognise that it is a two-way street between them and their healthcare providers. She related that the system is set up in such a way that as long as you have a normal delivery, you’re discharged.

But the doctor said, “Whatever happens outside of the hospital may be a bit more challenging, but we are putting systems in place in the new revised document and we are going to increase the number of postpartum visits that the woman MUST have in the six weeks after she would have delivered her baby.”

According to her, it will give the health officials an opportunity to be able to detect the signs and symptoms. She added that before, the women were only seen twice in the six-week period, but they have increased that to at least three to four times in the allotted time so that the health officials can have a better handle on some of the issues or challenges that may arise.

Dr. Hamilton reminded the public that the ministry is working to address not only postpartum depression, but also other complications that may arise in the early days of discharge that can be harmful to new mothers and they can lose their lives.

“We are putting multiple steps and multiple layers in place so that we can be able to detect early symptoms so that they can have an intervention,” said Dr. Hamilton.
Finally, Dr. Hamilton wants all women, but especially Guyanese women and men, to understand that “a healthy population is a population that moves forward and can realise many of its potential.

“Women are one of the main foundational pillars of a family, which is the basic unit of a community and as a country, we need to ensure that women invest in ensuring that they remain healthy, seek services early and do not wait until you become ill.”

She added that “we want women to look at their health from the perspective of wellness and not illness.”

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