For decades, researchers have postulated a connection between breastfeeding and postpartum depression (PPD). Many have suggested that breastfeeding may protect against postpartum depression and have suggested that the cessation of breastfeeding may be a trigger [...]
A recent study followed 29 mothers who gave birth to 35 premature children born before the 33rd week of pregnancy. The women were assessed within 2 weeks postpartum (T0), 2 weeks after hospitalization (T1), 6 months post-term (T2), and 18 months post-term (T3). The Impact of Event Scale (IES), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-X1) were used to assess maternal mental health outcomes.
Pregnancy is a time of risk for women with histories of major depression. In a study where 201 women with histories of recurrent depression were followed prospectively through pregnancy, 43% experienced a relapse of major depression during pregnancy. Relapse rates were highest in the group of women who elected to discontinue antidepressant treatment proximate to conception (68% as compared to 26% in the group of women who maintained antidepressant treatment).
This week in the New York Times, there is a two-part story on maternal mental illness. Highlighting the experience of two women who became ill during the postpartum period, the articles focus on the range of disorders which can emerge during the postpartum period -- not only depression, but bipolar disorder, anxiety, OCD, and psychosis.
Many studies have assessed the risk of depression in the mothers of infants, but fewer studies have focused on the risk of depression in the mothers of older children. A recent study published in BJOG [...]
Previous studies have identified primiparity as a significant risk factor for postpartum psychosis and especially bipolar affective disorders. This is the first study to quantify the risk of psychiatric illness after the first as compared to subsequent pregnancies.
It is estimated that suicide accounts for about 10% of all maternal deaths. While we have a fair amount of information to help us predict which women are at risk for depression during pregnancy and [...]
We would like to thank you for your continuing support of the National Pregnancy Registry for Atypical Antipsychotics (NPRAA) at the Center for Women’s Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital. We are grateful for all the referrals made to the Registry as our numbers continue to grow every day. Given the Registry’s successful enrollment, we are pleased to announce our plan to release preliminary data at an upcoming conference in June, the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP) Annual Meeting.
Various instruments have been used to detect postpartum depression (PPD). However, rather than waiting for depression to occur, can we possibly identify women during pregnancy who will go on to develop postpartum illness? If we [...]
In 2012, it was estimated that more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. There are undoubtedly many factors which may contribute to childhood obesity; a new study suggests that maternal depression may increase the risk of being overweight in low-income children.
