Women's Mental Health · OPD
Becoming a mother should not cost you yourself.
Women's mental health needs care that accounts for hormones, pregnancy, breastfeeding and the particular pressures Indian women carry. We treat post-partum depression and psychosis, severe pre-menstrual mood change, menopausal anxiety and insomnia, infertility-related distress, and anxiety or depression where medication must be chosen around pregnancy. Consultations are private, and treatment choices are explained so that you decide with full information.
Manas Neuropsychiatry Hospital · Bhavnagar
About one new mother in eight develops post-partum depression. Very few are ever asked about it.
Symptoms
How it actually shows up.
After childbirth
- Persistent sadness or emptiness beyond the first two weeks
- Unable to feel love or bonding with the baby, and guilt about it
- Frightening intrusive thoughts about harm coming to the baby
- Crying spells, irritability and constant exhaustion
- Unable to sleep even when the baby sleeps
- Loss of appetite and weight
- Confusion, agitation, suspiciousness or hearing voices — post-partum psychosis, a medical emergency
Across other life stages
- Severe mood swings, irritability and despair in the week before periods (PMDD)
- Menopausal anxiety, hot flushes with palpitations, and broken sleep
- Distress, guilt and marital strain around infertility and repeated IVF cycles
- Anxiety or depression in pregnancy, often hidden for fear of medication
- Depression after hysterectomy or pregnancy loss
- Exhaustion and low mood from an unshared caregiving load at home
Why it happens
Causes we look for before prescribing.
- Rapid hormonal shifts after delivery, around periods and through menopause
- Sleep deprivation with a newborn — a powerful independent trigger
- A previous episode of depression, or a family history of it
- Thyroid disease and anaemia, both very common and easily missed after childbirth
- Lack of practical and emotional support at home, and pressure over the baby's sex
- Difficult pregnancy, emergency caesarean, pregnancy loss or an infant in NICU
- Domestic conflict or violence
Our treatment approach
What treatment at Manas actually involves.
A private, unhurried consultation
A full assessment with thyroid, haemoglobin and vitamin testing where indicated — because after childbirth, thyroid disease and anaemia commonly masquerade as depression.
Breastfeeding-safe medication
Several antidepressants have good safety data in breastfeeding. Where medication is needed we choose from these, explain the evidence, and coordinate with your paediatrician when helpful.
Therapy and practical planning
CBT and interpersonal therapy, plus concrete work on sleep rotation, feeding support and dividing household load — because advice that ignores the reality of the home does not work.
PMDD and menopausal treatment
Cycle charting, SSRIs used continuously or only in the luteal phase, and non-hormonal options for hot flushes and sleep, in coordination with your gynaecologist.
Involving the family, carefully
Husbands and mothers-in-law are counselled about what post-partum depression is and is not — often the single change that most reduces a new mother's distress.
Pre-pregnancy planning
If you are on psychiatric medication and planning a pregnancy, come before conceiving. Some drugs must be changed in advance, and stopping abruptly on your own is the riskier choice.
Please read this
Post-partum psychosis — confusion, agitation, suspiciousness, hearing voices, or any thought of harming the baby or yourself — is a psychiatric emergency needing same-day assessment. Call +91 94275 60101.
Frequently asked
Questions we are asked every week.
Treatment begins with one consultation.
OPD Mon – Sat, 9 AM – 8 PM at Kalanala, Bhavnagar. No referral needed. Emergency support 24×7.