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Many people view postpartum depression as a condition that affects just the mother. Unfortunately, this is not true. The whole family encounters relationship issues that alter family interactions drastically. Depressed mothers who do not seek treatment often place their infants at risk for severe or deadly setbacks in growth and development.

The medical name for this complicated problem is nonorganic failure to thrive. Nonorganic indicates that there is no medical cause for the infant's delays. As a result of the mom's postpartum depression, she often stops meeting the baby's physical and psychological needs. Even though the infant may cry out in hunger at the beginning, he or she often gives up and quits relating to other people. This condition may result in malnutrition, starvation, and even death.

Physicians use developmental charts to follow a child's physical growth with respect to height, weight, and head size. If the baby is healthy at birth, his or her size will be within the normal values on the growth charts. If the infant begins to have severe developmental delays, the problem will be apparent by comparing his or her progress with normal ranges. Once an infant's growth is below the fifth percentile, doctors become seriously concerned.

Other symptoms often appear before an infant's growth problems reach this crisis stage. Most infants who grow at a normal rate are interested in their surroundings. In contrast, infants who fail to thrive show little or no curiosity about their surroundings. These infants typically do not make noise or talk; they have quit trying to respond to their caregivers.

How serious is this condition? If not treated properly, a child may starve, and even die. Although the infant may get just enough nutrition to stay alive, his or her muscles, bone, and brain do develop enough. Additionally, even if they are treated, these children never "catch up" entirely. They often develop social issues or eating disorders, even when they finally start getting their needs met.

Infants diagnosed with failure to thrive often become gravely sick from starvation. They usually are hospitalized for several weeks at a time. In some cases, they get so weak that feeding from a bottle is exhausting. They get nutrition via a tube placed in their stomachs, or even in their veins to get food!

The saddest aspect of this condition is that it is so preventable. If mothers with postpartum depression recognize this depression when it begins, they are able to seek treatment and never expose their fragile babies to these terrible complications. Indeed, studies have demonstrated that ninety percent of the women who suffer from depression who seek treatment will find healing!

Numerous approaches are used to treat postpartum depression. Some doctors use medications, such as antidepressants. These medications are expensive. They should also be avoided in nursing mothers. Moreover, antidepressants can cause suicidal thoughts; these medications should be used with great care.

Usually, doctors encourage psychotherapy instead of or along with medications. Counseling, however, can be expensive. In addition, it often requires a lot of extra time, and several weeks may go by before this therapy is successful. Unfortunately, if the woman's depression is severe, this much time may be too much to prevent harm to the infant. If the baby starts showing delayed growth, extra treatment may be required.

Luckily, other non-drug therapy approaches can be used. Two revolutionary, effective methods that usually offer positive outcomes much faster than psychotherapy, and are not nearly as dangerous as medicine, are Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and hypnosis for depression. NLP and hypnosis typically begin to work after even a single session. In addition, they cost much less than alternative methods.

Mothers who suspect they have postpartum depression must seek treatment immediately so that their infants are not at risk for dangerous growth problems. The severity of the consequences for the infant demands that any approach work quickly, and have a high rate of effectiveness. NLP and hypnotherapy for depression are inexpensive, begin to work almost immediately, and are highly effective. This makes these two treatments ideal for helping women with postpartum depression.

Summary: Postpartum depression is depression that occurs after the birth of a child. New moms are not able to give their infants the attention they need to live and grow. This causes failure to thrive, a severe, possibly fatal condition, affecting the infant. Moms who think they have postpartum depression should get treatment as soon as possible. Hypnosis and NLP for depression are inexpensive and have demonstrated amazing effectiveness.