Postpartum depression
Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder experienced after childbirth, which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and changes in sleeping or eating patterns. PPD can also negatively affect the newborn child.
| Postpartum depression | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Postnatal depression |
| Postpartum Depression Venus, a representation of the loss and emptiness felt after childbirth. | |
| Specialty | Psychiatry |
| Symptoms | Extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, changes in sleeping or eating patterns, crying episodes, irritability |
| Usual onset | A week to a month after childbirth |
| Causes | Unclear |
| Risk factors | Prior postpartum depression, bipolar disorder, family history of depression, psychological stress, complications of childbirth, lack of support, drug use disorder |
| Diagnostic method | Based on symptoms |
| Differential diagnosis | Baby blues |
| Treatment | Counselling, medications |
| Frequency | ~15% of births |
While the exact cause of PPD is unclear, the cause is believed to be a combination of physical, emotional, genetic, and social factors. These may include factors such as hormonal changes and sleep deprivation. Risk factors include prior episodes of postpartum depression, bipolar disorder, a family history of depression, psychological stress, complications of childbirth, lack of support, or a drug use disorder. Diagnosis is based on a person's symptoms. While most women experience a brief period of worry or unhappiness after delivery, postpartum depression should be suspected when symptoms are severe and last over two weeks.
Among those at risk, providing psychosocial support may be protective in preventing PPD. This may include community support such as food, household chores, mother care, and companionship. Treatment for PPD may include counseling or medications. Types of counseling that have been found to be effective include interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and psychodynamic therapy. Tentative evidence supports the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Postpartum depression affects roughly 8.9-10.1% of women in high income countries and 17.8-19.7% of women in low and middle income countries. Postpartum depression commonly affects mothers who have had experienced stillbirth, live in urban areas, and adolescent mothers. Moreover, this mood disorder is estimated to affect 1% to 26% of new fathers. Postpartum psychosis, a more severe form of postpartum mood disorder, occurs in about 1 to 2 per 1,000 women following childbirth. Postpartum psychosis is one of the leading causes of the murder of children less than one year of age, which occurs in about 8 per 100,000 births in the United States.