Infant Mortality and Maternal Mental Health

When a woman gives birth to a baby, the mother's entire world revolves completely around her baby, and the mother is often entirely focused on the child. Similarly, when an infant dies, the mother might feel a loss of sense of identity, which might lead to severe mental health concerns that need clinical attention.

These concerns have not been paid much attention, which is very disturbing to know, especially since there is such a high mortality rate in the world. The early loss of an infant can lead to many mental health issues, ranging from distress to PTSD to even suicidal thoughts.

And the worst part is that most of the time it goes undetected and untreated, which indicates the fact that ignoring mental health has reached such a height that even such serious mental health concerns aren't paid attention to.

There is a serious need to create awareness for the mental health of new mothers, and this should not be just restricted to the mothers; awareness should also be spread to the entire family as they are the ones who would actually be able to notice it.

Secondly, social support is one of the most important protective factors against mental health issues such as depression, and it should not be neglected. Instead, it should be given in abundance to both pregnant women as well as new mothers because only a physically and mentally healthy mother can give birth to and raise a physically and mentally healthy infant.