Adoptive parents get the baby blues too
The baby blues which can follow the arrival of a baby in the home does not only affect some biological mothers, but also some adoptive parents, in particular those whose expectations are unrealistic or whose expectations are not met.
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Normally, the birth and arrival of a baby into a home is synonym to joy and happiness for the whole family. But that’s not always the case... in some rare cases, melancholy, bad moods, loss of appetite and feelings of guilt or even shame, accompany the arrival of a baby.
What are the baby blues?
The mother, far from blossoming into her new role, finds it very difficult to come to terms with her maternal responsibilities. This infamous period called the “baby blues” is a short-lived period of deep discontent that appears three to ten days after the birth.
According to various studies, it is estimated that anywhere between 15-85% of ‘Western’ mothers experience some form of baby postnatal depression. Most of the time, the blues disappear quickly and do not require medical consultation. Generally, specialists explain this phenomenon as due to hormonal upheaval linked to the pregnancy but it is possible that psychological elements are also to blame as pregnancy and childbirth can be a trying and exhausting time.
Baby blues and adoptive parents
It would also appear that this particular form of depression not only affects biological mothers, but also adoptive parents. This is at least the conclusion of a study carried out by Karen Foli at the University of Purdue (Indiana, United States). The interviews she carried out on 21 adoptive parents (30 interviews in total) have shown that adoptive parents apparently present similar symptoms to the baby blues that affect young biological mothers.
Whatever the context (age of the child, adoption via public or private organisations, in the United States or abroad), most parents acknowledge being affected by some sort of baby blues after the arrival of a child.
Different reasons for adoptive baby blues
According to the researcher, parents “didn’t expect connecting with the child would be so difficult. Their friends or family's support was not what they hoped for, considered less than compared to the support given to biological parents”. Foli talks of their difficulties “accepting their legitimacy as parents, and quickly finding their parent-child relationship".
Lack of connection with biological parents, the disappointing attitude of society towards adoptive parents or an overestimation of the potential attachment to the child all also participate to the apparition of this particular type of depression.
Furthermore, while the “traditional” baby blues predominantly affects mothers, the adoptive parent type is different in that it often affects both parents; mother and father. The negative repercussions for both the parents and the child (the child unable to blossom in an ideal environment) mean that any psychological monitoring that is needed should be proposed quickly, before the symptoms (and their negative consequences) set in.
According to the British Association for Adoption & Fostering, for the 12 months up to March 2009 some 3,00 children were adopted from within the English care system, with an average age of 3 years and 9 months. Each year, a total of more than 4,500 orders are given for adoption, including adoptions by relatives and stepparents.
Source:
“Depression in Adoptive Parents, A Model of Understanding Through Grounded Theory”, Karen J. Foli, Western Journal of Nursing Research, December 2009
Copyright © 2010 Doctissimo
Posted 23.08.2010
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