Causes Of Postpartum Depression In Women.

This essay will try to critically analyse two different health topics through applying the theoretical perspectives on gender patterns of health. It will examine the feminist theory and link it with self-labelling and hegemonic theory regarding postpartum depression amongst women and prostate cancer disease in men respectively, and will finally offer a short summary of the main points and produce reflective journal related to the topic.

According to Kuhlman and Annandale (2012) gender-based approach to health and health care has gained significance role over the years within the health circles, this approach distinguishes the different experiences of women and men of various populations. Gender-based approaches to health highlight the fact that in addition to having different reproductive health needs, women and men have different risks for specific diseases and disabilities, and that they disagree in their health-related beliefs and behaviours.

The Feminist (Feminism) Theory

Feminist theory, or feminism, is a theory which sustains the idea of equality for women and human beings, it is therefore a theory which stresses the need for men and women to be treated equally and fairly, although the feminists strive for gender equality, there are diverse ways to approach this theory, including liberal feminism, socialist feminism Elliot, (2010).

Mcrobbie, (2009) argues liberal feminism is rooted in classic liberal idea and considers that people should be free to produce their own talents and follow their own dreams, this methodology sees sexual orientation disparities as established in the frames of mind of our social and social organizations. Even though liberal women's activists do not see women’s fairness as requiring a revamping of society, yet they do look to grow the rights and chances of women Mcrobbie, (2009).

Postpartum Depression in Women

The national and international statistics show that the mortality rate among men is higher than women and lower life expectancy rate than women and these statistics is found around the globe (Payne, 2006). Although it has also observed that women tend to experience more health-related illness than men and it can be varied as per the lifespan development and condition as in most countries life expectancy among women is higher than men, but the other perspective is women spend more their time by living with disability (Mathers, 2001). With the help of self-labelling theory, the critical understanding of gender in the arena of women’s health will be understood.

Introduction of the Health Topic

Postpartum depression (PPD) in a health-related disease is a combination of the physical, behavioural and emotional changes that occur among women after giving birth to the child. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders five (DSM-5), PPD is the form of major depression that is inception within the four weeks after delivery. But it is not just based on this it also depends on the severity of the depression (Anderson, 2017).

Sebastian, (2016) argues postpartum depression is a mood disorder that can impact women after childbirth, and it is associated with chemical, psychological and social changes after having a baby. The chemical changes occur in the women body due to the rapid drop of hormones after delivery.

In the US, around 70 to 80% of women experience minimum baby blues. The reported rate of postpartum depression among new mothers in clinical settings found in between 10% to 20%. The current study reported that one in every seven women experience PPD after giving childbirth. Means every year nearly 4 million children born in the United States which is equal to 600,000 PPD women diagnosed. In Asian countries 85% of new mothers experience PPD. Needs referencing

According to the researchers and medical experts, there are different factors that raise the risk of postpartum depression for example if women have a past history of depression or during pregnancy the risk of PPD rise up to 30 to 35%, the age of women at the time of pregnancy the younger the women, the higher the risk, marital conflicts, and many others (Ussher, 2011).

Self-Labelling Theory

Self-labelling is a theory that explains how the self-identity and behaviour of an individual can be determined or influenced by the terms or labelling that is utilized to classify them. It is linked with the ideas of self-satisfying divination and stereotyping. Self-labelling theory preserve that the deviation is not intrinsic in an act, but in its place emphases on the tendency of the masses to negatively label minorities or those perceived as different from standards such as cultural and gender norms McLaughlin, and Newburn (2010) Muncie, (2010)

According to Paternoster and Lovanni (1989) the opposite view of the labelling theory is that the problem is lies with the critics, not the theory: 'The empirical tests of the labelling views have been piloted with relatively in-elegant designs of a complex theory'. They claim that for the most part 'observed tests of labelling plans have been piloted with completely distorted theories that are more misrepresented than the characteristic of the theory'. They proposed two areas for performing research. One area would analyse the social context in which labelling happens and the second area will be the increasing effects shaped by the social features of the individual who are suffering from any kind of labelling. Paternoster and Lovanni (1989

Mackinnon, (1991) argues feminist theory of sexuality based on this essay locates sexuality within the theory of gender inequality meaning the social hierarchy of men over women and to build a feminist theory it is not enough that it will be authored by a biological female or describes female as different from men's sexuality, its theory of sexuality becomes feminist methodologically, meaning feminist in the post-maxist sense, to some extent treats sexuality as a social construction of male power defined by men, forced on women and constitute of the meaning of gender. The feminist theory of knowledge is inextricable from the feminist critique of power because the male point of view forces itself upon the world as its way of apprehending it and to some extent it is persuaded women have been unjustly unequal to men because of social meaning of their bodies (Mackinnon, 1991).

According to Ramazanouglu and Hollland, (2002) communist woman's rights then again developed from the thoughts of Karl Marx, accused free enterprise for advancing male centric society by gathering power in the hands of few men. Notwithstanding, with radical women's liberation, the hypothetical watch word is man centric society, which can be found wherever ladies and men are in contact with one another, in private just as openly

Critical Analysis

The sociologists and researchers show great concern to get the insight why women are more likely to suffer than the men and receive many treatments to resolve mental illness such as major depression, postpartum depression, this researcher identifies social and economic factors that are associated with gender inequality that subject women to roles (marriage, occupations, child-rearing), significant life events (divorce, rape), unfortunate circumstances (poverty) that intensify the susceptibility to psychological distress (Benatar, 2003).

Enander, (2010) argues that labelling theory describes the mental illness as problematic and leads toward the attention to questions of power by stressing the way that describes women daily routine violations of gender rules such as men dominating in the medical facilities and mental health institute increase the risk of mental illness diseases such as severe depression or postpartum depression among women. Due to such differences in gender norms, women are experiencing more mental illness than the men, therefore, there are different studies opposing the labelling theory by the discovering of the mental illness in oneself and taking mental health treatment as always self-initiated (Taylor, 1995). In the modern societies where they are giving more concern for the individual health and wellbeing, it is mow tied with the different campaigns that launched into different public awareness that aim to support and self-help initiate for their own health and wellbeing (Crawford, 2006).

Vogel, (2007) argues more about the theory and discusses the feeling of stigma when an individual behaves differently according to the standard of society particularly to the gender they have, it has also found that there is a strong association between the labelling, stigma, and avoidance of treatment. Yeh et al., (2003) study proved that fear of labelling and expectancy of stigma is the main barriers of mothers who are suffering from postpartum depression to avoid help-seeking and service utilization and fue to such barriers and fears of labelling, it is found that women are more prone to suffer from mental illness than men.

Thoits, (1999) argues self-labelling approach is the best approach to get the insight about the process involved in the recognition and labelling of the emotions that is the connection with the postpartum mental illness as it is claim that individuals who are labelled as mentally ill are stereotypically demonstrating as erratic, dangerous, and incapable to care for themselves

Conclusion

Thoits, (1999) argues that the less dominant role of women due to the gender and health equality poses a challenge for them, for many women postpartum depression pretences a significant challenge to the overriding edifice of motherhood and women's caregiving that it acts as a form of gender resistance for utilizing proper treatment and for the self-initiated to identify mental illness.

As it is observed that health pattern between genders is differed from men to women. Labelling theory is criticized by the lack of formalization and systemization. The self-labelling of postpartum depression can be observed as rebellious of the gender status quo. Together, no matter how much we might argue that postpartum depression is the piece of rebellion because it reconstructs the most central dimensions of mothering, assuming mental illness as a practice of gender confrontation means embracing a 'medical model.'