Postpartum Depression - MGH Center for Women's Mental Health

New Baby 101: Practical Intervention Strategy Reduces the Risk of Postpartum Depression

An intervention teaching new parents about normal infant sleeping and crying patterns and providing them with techniques for infant settling improves mothers' depression scores. There were no differences in scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 4 months, but at 6 months, caregivers in the intervention group were almost half as likely to score higher than 9 on the EPDS, with 7.9% scoring higher than 9 in the intervention group vs. 12.9% in the control cohort (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.57).

By MGH Center for Women's Mental Health|2015-08-07T14:53:22-04:00January 13th, 2014|Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders, Prevention, Psychotherapy|Comments Off

Shorter Maternity Leave Associated with Risk of Postpartum Depression

The current leave duration provided by the Family and Medical Leave Act is 12 weeks. However, a recent study indicates that women who return to work sooner than six months after childbirth were at an increased risk of postpartum depressive symptoms.

By MGH Center for Women's Mental Health|2020-12-11T12:42:58-04:00December 24th, 2013|Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders|Comments Off

Postpartum Depression and Bonding Difficulties: Different but Interrelated Problems

A mother’s emotional relationship with her baby begins during her pregnancy. The mother’s feelings about her baby, described as bonding, typically grow and intensify after the baby’s birth and become the foundation of the mother’s relationship with her child.

By MGH Center for Women's Mental Health|2016-08-09T12:21:31-04:00December 18th, 2013|Child Outcomes, Outcomes, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders|Comments Off

Interpersonal Therapy Based Intervention Reduces the Risk of Postpartum Depression in Teen Mothers

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a relatively common problem, affecting between 10% and 15% of women after delivery. Although it is difficult to reliably predict which women in the general population will experience postpartum mood disturbance, it is possible to identify certain subgroups of women who are more vulnerable. One such group is teen mothers, where the risk of PPD is about 25%.

By MGH Center for Women's Mental Health|2015-08-07T14:39:54-04:00October 30th, 2013|Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders, Prevalence & Risk Factors, Psychotherapy|Comments Off

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapies for the Treatment of Perinatal Depression: A Review

In an excellent and thoughtful review article, Kristina Deligiannidis and Marlene Freeman (from the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health) summarize data on the efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine therapies for the treatment of perinatal depression. This is one of the most thorough reviews on CAM and provides thoughtful, evidence-based recommendations regarding the use of these treatments for women with perinatal depression. It is definitely worth tracking down a copy of this review, but if you can’t find it, here is a summary.

By MGH Center for Women's Mental Health|2015-08-05T14:29:47-04:00September 30th, 2013|Alternative & Complementary, Depressive Disorders, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders, Psychiatric Disorders During Pregnancy, Treatment|Comments Off

Pregnancy Loss Increases the Risk of Postpartum Psychiatric Illness

Pregnancy loss may cause great psychological stress for women. How such a loss, whether or not the woman identifies it as a stressor, affects her emotional well-being after the birth of a future child is unknown. In order to better understand the relationship between pregnancy loss and risk for postpartum psychiatric illness, researchers assessed 192 women at their first-year pediatric well-child care visits in an urban pediatric clinic. In this group of low income mothers, 49% of the women reported a previous pregnancy loss (miscarriage, stillbirth, or induced abortion).

By MGH Center for Women's Mental Health|2015-08-05T14:50:05-04:00September 23rd, 2013|Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders, Pregnancy Loss, Prevalence & Risk Factors|Comments Off

Postpartum Depression in New Fathers: Being Younger is A Risk Factor

While postpartum depression (PPD) is typically considered to be a woman’s illness, a number of studies have suggested that, although men do not experience any of the dramatic physiologic or hormonal changes that go along with pregnancy, new fathers may also suffer from PPD. Several recent studies yield information on how to better identify new fathers at risk for depression.

By MGH Center for Women's Mental Health|2015-08-06T12:57:20-04:00March 19th, 2013|Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders, Prevalence & Risk Factors|Comments Off

Can We Use Twitter to Identify Women at Risk for Postpartum Depression?

There are many approaches to predicting which women are likely to develop postpartum depression (PPD). Most of these utilize standardized questionnaires and/or screening by health care providers. While these approaches may be effective, they tend to be costly and labor-intensive. A new study pilots the use of social media in predicting which women at risk for postpartum mood disorders.

By MGH Center for Women's Mental Health|2015-07-29T12:08:16-04:00January 30th, 2013|Diagnosis & Screening, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders|Comments Off

Selenium and Risk of Postpartum Depression

Women are strongly encouraged to take prenatal vitamins, and there is significant data to indicate multiple benefits to the child, including decreased risk of various congenital defects and certain types of childhood cancers. Less understood is the impact of these supplements on the mother’s mental status and her risk for mood disorder during the perinatal period. A group of researchers from Alberta, Canada has recently examined the risk for postpartum depressive symptoms in women enrolled in the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study, specifically examining the nutrients ingested through supplements to determine whether any individual supplementary nutrients may modulate the risk of postpartum depressive symptoms.

By MGH Center for Women's Mental Health|2015-08-06T13:33:08-04:00January 28th, 2013|Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders, Prevalence & Risk Factors|Comments Off

Breastfeeding and Postpartum Depression: What’s the Connection?

In our clinic, we often see women who come in for the treatment of depression and/or anxiety after the cessation of breastfeeding. Many question if breastfeeding may protect against postpartum depression and if the cessation of breastfeeding is a trigger for postpartum depression and/or anxiety. However, the research examining the association between postpartum depression and breastfeeding has been somewhat difficult to interpret.

By MGH Center for Women's Mental Health|2018-07-11T10:29:07-04:00December 10th, 2012|Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders, Prevalence & Risk Factors|Comments Off