Psychiatric Disorders in Pregnancy & Postpartum
Are there any Psychiatric Disorders in Pregnancy & Postpartum?
Screening for postpartum depression: Research review and update
Mothers of new babies should undergo screening for postpartum depression—preferably across healthcare locations and at multiple times up to one year after delivery, according to a new research review. Ref. Source 8s.
Postpartum depression least severe form of depression in mothers
Postpartum depression -- a household term since actress Brooke Shields went public in 2005 about her struggle with it -- is indeed serious. But depression that begins before or during pregnancy is often more severe because it lasts longer and usually goes undetected until the doctor screens for it after the birth of the baby, according to a new study. Ref. Source 7k.
What Effect Does Prenatal and Postpartum Maternal Depression Have on Children?
The results of a large study do not support the notion that prenatal and postpartum maternal depression is particularly detrimental to children's psychological development. Instead, the most robust effects were found for maternal depression occurring during children's preschool years. Ref. Source 9s.
Low levels of 'anti-anxiety' hormone linked to postpartum depression
In a small-scale study of women with previously diagnosed mood disorders, researchers report that lower levels of the hormone allopregnanolone in the second trimester of pregnancy were associated with an increased chance of developing postpartum depression in women already known to be at risk for the disorder. Ref. Source 6m.
Women who give birth in winter or spring less likely to have postpartum depression. Women who give birth in winter or spring are less likely than women who deliver in the fall or summer to suffer from postpartum depression (PPD), suggests a study of more than 20,000 women. The study also found that women who delivered babies at a higher gestational age (Further along in their pregnancy) were less likely to develop PPD, and women who did not have anesthesia, such as an epidural, during delivery had an increased risk. Source 6s.
Neuroscientists shed light on causes of postpartum depression using new research model. Postpartum depression strikes nearly one in five new mothers. Stress is a significant risk factor for this complex condition. Neuroscientists have generated a novel preclinical model of postpartum depression and demonstrated involvement of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (The neuroendocrine system that mediates physiological response to stress and is normally suppressed during and after pregnancy). These findings in mice provide the first empirical evidence that disruption of this system engenders behaviors mimicking human postpartum depression. Source 9h.
How bad will my postpartum depression be in 12 months? A new study was able to successfully predict -- with 72.8 percent accuracy -- if a new mother would experience worsening depressive symptoms over the first year after giving birth. The scientists predicted this depression trajectory using four maternal characteristics that put the mother at risk. Identifying these factors early in the postpartum period will allow mothers to seek treatment earlier and improve their chance of a full recovery. Source 9o.