Search

Although Postpartum Depression affects many women and often has comorbidity with anxiety symptoms, little is known about the evolution of depression/anxiety symptoms over time and the factors that can influence that. The associations between emotion regulation difficulties and psychopathological symptoms have been studied, however, there are scarce longitudinal studies in the postpartum period that analyse the role of these difficulties in these symptoms over time. The main goal of this study was to characterize the depression and anxiety symptoms of mothers with high risk for Postpartum Depression over the postpartum period (from 3/4 months until 9/11 months postpartum), and to understand the role of emotion regulation difficulties in the evolution of these symptoms. A sample of 156 mothers with high risk for Postpartum Depression participated in a longitudinal online survey (three different assessment moments - 3/4 months postpartum, 5/6 months postpartum and 9/11 months postpartum), containing several assessment instruments that evaluated different constructs (e.g., depressive, anxiety symptoms, emotion regulation difficulties). Our study showed a reduction of depressive symptoms from 3/4 to 5/6 months postpartum. Approximately 30% of mothers showed comorbid depressive and anxious symptoms. Emotion regulation difficulties related significantly with depressive and anxious symptoms in each assessment moment, but not configured as mediators in the relation between these symptoms. These results emphasized the importance of early intervention in mothers with high risk for Postpartum Depression, the importance to not neglect the anxious and comorbid symptoms and highlight the importance of interventions based on transdiagnostic approaches., Author(s): Catarina Cardoso [sup.1] , Ana Fonseca [sup.1] [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.8051.c, 0000 0000 9511 4342, University of Coimbra, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, , Coimbra, Portugal (2) [...]

This paper focuses on the riddle of the extreme ends of the birth experience. On one end, are women who experience relatively successful childbirth as traumatic, and suffer from poor mental health during postpartum, varying from baby blues to postpartum depression and up to childbirth-related PP-PTSD. On the other, are women who experience childbirth as a highly positive, life-altering event. I offer that both extremes can be understood from the phenomenon of birthing consciousness and its fragility. When natural birth is uninterrupted, there are more chances for a natural birth process. At the end of an undisturbed natural delivery, women report 'natural high' sensations. However, even minor physical and environmental interruptions to the birthing woman stop the birth from progressing, thus requiring medical interventions. Out of analyzing the psycho-physical states during birth - natural and undisturbed versus highly medicated births - I claim that the fragility of birthing consciousness is the answer to the riddle of the extreme ends of the birth experience. Thus, the question 'how does a low-risk woman get to a highly medicated birth?' should be answered, not only in a physiological orientation, but also in a psycho-physiological and environmental context. Typical modern hospital birth environments often interrupt birthing consciousness, leading to a cascade of medical interventions and highly medicalized births with extremely negative birth experiences, which often results in poor mental health in postpartum. I argue that the first step to support a woman during a physiological birth, is to acknowledge the particular psycho-physical state of the birthing woman and its fragility, and not interrupt it unnecessarily., Author(s): Orli Dahan [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.443193.8, 0000 0001 2107 842X, Tel-Hai College, , 12208, Upper Galilee, Israel Introduction: How we Give Birth Also Matters for Postpartum Mental Health [...]

Objectives We evaluate the association between food insecurity (FI) and clinical depression, and the modifying effects of seasonality on this association. Methods Food insecurity is assessed from 175 post-partum women in the rural Ntcheu District of central Malawi using the USAID's Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Clinical depression is measured using a validated Chichewa version of the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ). Interviews were conducted from October 2016 to June 2017 and spanned 5 months of the dry season (April-November) and the 4 months of rainy season (December-March). Results After adjusting for age and parity, participants who reported high FI (HFIAS score [greater than or equal to] 9) had 4.6 (95%CI 1.8-11.4) times the odds of meeting the cut-off for clinical depression (SRQ score [greater than or equal to] 8). The effect was greater during the dry season (OR 9.9; 95%CI 2.0-48.6), than in the rainy season (OR 2.6; 95%CI 0.8-8.3) though the interaction term was not statistically significant (p = 0.18) Conclusions for Practice High FI is associated with diagnostic markers of clinical depression., Author(s): Tiffany E. Mark [sup.1] , Ryan J. Latulipe [sup.2] , Martina Anto-Ocrah [sup.3] [sup.4] , Geoffrey Mlongoti [sup.5] , David Adler [sup.3] , Joseph W. Lanning [sup.5] [sup.6] Author [...]

Objective This study examined whether socioeconomic status moderated the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and postpartum depression among a community-based sample of women. Defining the role of poverty in the risk of postpartum depression for IPV victims enables prioritization of health promotion efforts to maximize the effectiveness of existing maternal-infant resources. Methods This cross-sectional telephone-survey study interviewed 301 postpartum women 2 months after delivery, screening them for IPV and depression [using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)]. Socioeconomic status was defined by insurance (Medicaid-paid-delivery or not). This analysis controlled for the following covariates, collected through interview and medical-record review: demographics, obstetric history, prenatal health and additional psychosocial risk factors. After adjusting for significant covariates, multiple linear regression was conducted to test whether socioeconomic status confounded or moderated IPV's relationship with EPDS-score. Results Ten percent of participants screened positive for postpartum depression, 21.3 % screened positive for current or previous adult emotional or physical abuse by a partner, and 32.2 % met poverty criteria. IPV and poverty were positively associated with each other ([chi].sup.2 (1) = 11.76, p < .001) and with EPDS score (IPV: beta 3.2 (CI 2.0, 4.5) p < .001, poverty: beta 1.3 (CI 0.2, 2.4) p = .017). In the multiple linear regression, IPV remained significantly associated, but poverty did not (IPV: adjusted beta 3.1 (CI 1.8, 4.3) p < .001, poverty: adjusted beta 0.8 (CI -0.3, 1.9) p = .141), and no statistically significant interaction between IPV and poverty was found. Conclusions Study findings illustrated that IPV was strongly associated with postpartum depression, outweighing the influence of socioeconomic status upon depression for postpartum women., Author(s): Catherine L. Kothari[sup.1] , Michael R. Liepman[sup.2] , R. Shama Tareen[sup.2] , Phyllis Florian[sup.3] , Remitha M. Charoth[sup.2] , Suzanne S. Haas[sup.2] , Joseph W. McKean[sup.4] , Angela Moe[sup.4] [...]

This study examined the association between length of exposure to Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) services and breastfeeding initiation/duration. All women with singleton live births, first certified into MA WIC prenatally or postpartum (2001-2009), with complete breastfeeding and covariate data (maternal race, age, education, smoking status, BMI, HH income and size, birth weight, whether full or preterm, and sex) were included (n = 122,506). Regressions models were used to examine timing of WIC entry (i.e., trimester of prenatal or postpartum) with: (1) breastfeeding initiation, (2) mean duration (3) and 3, 6 and 12 month durations. Among prenatal entrants, first (vs. third) trimester entry was associated with a higher likelihood of initiation for both primiparous, and multiparous mothers (10 and 32% respectively; p < .01). Prenatal entrants breastfed 1.7 (primiparous), and 3.4 (multiparous) weeks longer than postpartum entrants (p < .0001). Among multiparous women, first trimester entry was associated a greater likelihood of breastfeeding for three (15% greater), six (25% greater) and twelve (33% greater) months compared to third trimester entrants (p < .0001). Greater exposure to WIC services improves breastfeeding rates among a low income diverse population of women. Keywords Breastfeeding-initiation * Breastfeeding-duration * WIC, Introduction Breastfeeding during the first year of life improves health outcomes in infants at all socioeconomic levels [1]. Exclusive breastfeeding has been associated with lower blood pressure and risk of [...]

Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have a substantial risk of subsequently developing type 2 diabetes. This risk may be mitigated by engaging in healthy eating, physical activity, and weight loss when indicated. Since postpartum depressive symptoms may impair a woman's ability to engage in lifestyle changes, we sought to identify factors associated with depressive symptoms in the early postpartum period among women with recent GDM. The participants are part of the baseline cohort of the TEAM GDM (Taking Early Action for Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus) study, a one-year randomized trial of a lifestyle intervention program for women with a recent history of GDM, conducted in Boston, Massachusetts between June 2010 and September 2012. We administered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 4-15 weeks postpartum to women whose most recent pregnancy was complicated by GDM (confirmed by laboratory data or medical record review). An EPDS score [greater than or equal to] 9 indicated depressive symptoms. We measured height and thyroid stimulating hormone, and administered a questionnaire to collect demographic data and information about breastfeeding and sleep. We calculated body mass index (BMI) using self-reported pre-pregnancy weight and measured height. We reviewed medical records to obtain data about medical history, including history of depression, mode of delivery, and insulin use during pregnancy. We conducted bivariable analyses to identify correlates of postpartum depressive symptoms, and then modeled the odds of postpartum depressive symptoms using multivariable logistic regression. Our study included 71 women (mean age 33 years [+ or -] 5; 59 % White, 28 % African-American, 13 % Asian, with 21 % identifying as Hispanic; mean pre-pregnancy BMI 30 kg/[m.sup.2] [+ or -] 6). Thirty-four percent of the women scored [greater than or equal to]9 on the EPDS at the postpartum visit. In the best fit model, factors associated with depressive symptoms at 6 weeks postpartum included cesarean delivery (aOR 4.32, 95 % CI 1.46, 13.99) and gestational weight gain (aOR 1.21 [1.02, 1.46], for each additional 5 lbs gained). Use of insulin during pregnancy, breastfeeding, personal history of depression, and lack of a partner were not retained in the model. Identifying factors associated with postpartum depression in women with GDM is important since depression may interfere with lifestyle change efforts in the postpartum period. In this study, cesarean delivery and greater gestational weight gain were correlated with postpartum depressive symptoms among women with recent GDM (Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01158131). Keywords Postpartum depression * Gestational diabetes * Diabetes prevention * Cesarean delivery * Gestational weight gain, Introduction Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects approximately 3-7 % of all pregnancies and the prevalence is increasing as rates of overweight and obesity continue to rise among women of childbearing [...]

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious mental health problem. It is prevalent, and offspring are at risk for disturbances in development. Major risk factors include past depression, stressful life events, poor marital relationship, and social support. Public health efforts to detect PPD have been increasing. Standard treatments (e.g., Interpersonal Psychotherapy) and more tailored treatments have been found effective for PPD. Prevention efforts have been less consistently successful. Future research should include studies of epidemiological risk factors and prevalence, interventions aimed at the parenting of PPD mothers, specific diathesis for a subset of PPD, effectiveness trials of psychological interventions, and prevention interventions aimed at addressing mental health issues in pregnant women. Keywords: depression; developmental psychopathology; psychotherapy; prevention; postpartum depression DOI: 10.1002/jclp.20644

The study aims to investigate the relationship between diabetes and depression during pregnancy and post-partum among women from lower-income groups. The results indicate that pregnant women and new mothers with diabetes had a higher risk of developing depression during the perinatal period.

Objective: This study sought to compare the contribution of demographic and psychosocial variables on the prevalence of, and risk for, PND in urban and rural women. Methods: Demographic, psychosocial risk factor and mental health data was collected from urban (n=908) and rural (n=1,058) women attending perinatal health services in Victoria, Australia. Initial analyses determined similarities and significant differences between demographic and psychosocial variables. The association between these variables and PND case/non-case was evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Results: There were a number of significant differences between the two cohorts in terms of socio-economic status (SES), age, marital status and past history of psychopathology. Antenatal depression was more common in the urban group compared to the rural group (8.5% vs 3.4%, p=-0.006); there was no significant difference in the prevalence of PND (6.6% vs 8.5%, p=0.165). For urban mothers, antenatal EPDS score was the best predictor of PND. For rural mothers antenatal EPDS score, SES and psychiatric history had a significant influence on postnatal mood. Conclusions: Findings confirm the contribution of established risk factors such as past psychopathology, antenatal EPDS score and SES on the development of PND and reiterate the need for procedures to identify and assess psychosocial risk factors for depression in the perinatal period. Other predictors such as efficacy of social support and perceived financial burden may strengthen statistical models used to predict PND for women living in a rural setting. Keywords: postnatal, mental health, rural, screening, risk factors

Pediatric professionals are being asked to provide an increasing array of services during well-child visits, including screening for psychosocial and family issues that may directly or indirectly affect their pediatric patients. One such service is routine screening for postpartum depression at pediatric visits. Postpartum depression is an example of a parental condition that can have serious negative effects for the child. Because it is a maternal condition, it raises a host of ethical and legal questions about the boundaries of pediatric care and the pediatric provider&apos;s responsibility and liability. In this article we discuss the ethical and legal considerations of, and outline the risks of screening or not screening for, postpartum depression at pediatric visits. We make recommendations for pediatric provider education and for the roles of national professional organizations in guiding the process of defining the boundaries of pediatric care. Key Words postpartum depression, screening tools. well-child care, WHEN A PEDIATRICIAN or pediatric health care provider walks into an examination room for a well-child visit, who is the patient? It is the child, of course, but within the [...]

A survey was conducted to determine correlation of women with and without postnatal depression or postpartum depression (PPD), which is major psychiatric illness affecting many women. The results identified various items correlated with postpartum woman developing risk factors for PPD ranging from life events, childcare, family history, past history, social assistance, and relationship with husband, stressful life events, and unwanted pregnancy.