ONE of the researchers of the Research and Development Center for Maternal and Child Health (Redmatch) project emphasized that postpartum depression may last for a long time if not detected and treated earlier.
“It may take months or years if not treated because postpartum depression will develop a major depressive disorder and that is the more severe type of depressive disorder,” Dr. Agnes Padilla, project leader of postpartum depression, said during the press conference of the Redmatch launching on May 11, 2023, at the Davao Medical School Foundation Inc. (DMSF)
She said that postpartum depression can be triggered by a lot of factors and once a mother will be diagnosed with it, everyone in the family will be affected.
“The functionality of the mother will be impaired, and being a mother we were taught that as ‘ilaw ng tahanan’ she takes care of the family and if the mother is impaired the impact on the society will be great,” Padilla said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2015, the Philippines recorded 15.6 percent of women experiencing depression during pregnancy while 19.8 percent after birth.
Padilla said that if postpartum was detected and treated earlier it will only last for three months.
Padilla said that with the grant given by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) worth P11,764,418.80 out of the P75 million grant, they are hopeful to come up with a screening tool that will be used to foresee patients who are potentially at high risk for postpartum depression in order to prevent such cases.