What should one eat to manage postpartum depression?

Generally speaking, postpartum depression refers to depression after childbirth. Postpartum depression can be managed through dietary adjustments using foods such as bananas, deep-sea fish, pumpkin, oats, and spinach. It can also be treated with medications such as Sertraline Hydrochloride Tablets, Paroxetine Hydrochloride Tablets, Escitalopram Oxalate Tablets, Duloxetine Hydrochloride Enteric-coated Capsules, and Mirtazapine Tablets, according to a doctor's instructions. The detailed explanations are as follows:

I. Foods

1. Bananas

Bananas are rich in tryptophan, which can be converted into serotonin in the human body. Serotonin can regulate mood, improve depressive states, and make people feel happy and relaxed.

2. Deep-sea fish

Deep-sea fish, such as salmon and cod, contain abundant Omega-3 fatty acids that can influence the synthesis and transmission of brain neurotransmitters, reduce inflammatory responses, benefit emotional and cognitive functions, and help alleviate symptoms of postpartum depression.

3. Pumpkin

Pumpkin is rich in vitamin B6 and iron. Vitamin B6 participates in neurotransmitter synthesis, while iron helps prevent iron-deficiency anemia. Together, these two components assist the body in producing serotonin, stabilizing mood, and alleviating depressive symptoms.

4. Oats

Oats are rich in dietary fiber and carbohydrates, which release energy slowly, maintaining stable blood sugar levels and avoiding mood fluctuations caused by blood sugar variations. Additionally, the nutrients in oats help regulate the nervous system and improve anxiety and depressive moods.

5. Spinach

Spinach contains large amounts of folic acid. A deficiency in folic acid may lead to decreased serotonin levels in the brain, triggering depressive moods. Supplementing with folic acid from spinach can maintain normal serotonin levels and improve postpartum depressive states.

II. Medications

1. Sertraline Hydrochloride Tablets

Sertraline Hydrochloride Tablets selectively inhibit the reuptake of serotonin in the central nervous system, increasing serotonin concentration in the synaptic cleft, thus improving mood and alleviating depressive symptoms.

2. Paroxetine Hydrochloride Tablets

Paroxetine Hydrochloride Tablets inhibit the serotonin transporter, preventing the reuptake of serotonin, increasing the serotonin content in the synaptic cleft, regulating mood, and treating postpartum depression.

3. Escitalopram Oxalate Tablets

This medication highly selectively inhibits the reuptake of serotonin, enhancing central serotonergic nerve function, effectively improving patients' depressive symptoms and anxiety.

4. Duloxetine Hydrochloride Enteric-coated Capsules

Duloxetine Hydrochloride Enteric-coated Capsules inhibit the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine, acting on the neurotransmitter system through dual mechanisms, regulating mood, and alleviating both physical and psychological symptoms caused by postpartum depression.

5. Mirtazapine Tablets

Mirtazapine Tablets can block central α2-adrenergic receptors, enhancing the release of norepinephrine and serotonin, regulating the neurotransmitter system, improving sleep, alleviating anxiety and depressive moods, and treating postpartum depression.

In daily life, family members should provide full care and support for the mother, understanding the physical and psychological changes she experiences after childbirth, actively sharing the responsibility of infant care to reduce the mother's stress. Mothers themselves should maintain a regular routine, ensure sufficient sleep, and engage in appropriate postpartum recovery exercises, such as postnatal yoga, to promote physical recovery and mental relaxation.