Post-natal depression
| Postpartum depression | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Psychiatry |
| Frequency | 0.5–61% after delivery |
| Classification | |
|---|---|
| External resources |
Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of clinical depression which can affect both sexes after childbirth. Symptoms may include sadness, low energy, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, reduced desire for sex, crying episodes, anxiety, and irritability. While many women experience self-limited, mild symptoms postpartum, postpartum depression should be suspected when symptoms are severe and have lasted over two weeks.
Although a number of risk factors have been identified, the causes of PPD are not well understood. Hormonal change is hypothesized to contribute as one cause of postpartum depression. The emotional effects of postpartum depression can include sleep deprivation, anxiety about parenthood and caring for an infant, identity crisis, a feeling of loss of control over life, and anxiety due to lack of support from a romantic or sexual partner. Many women recover with treatment such as a support group, counseling, or medication.
Between 0.5% to 61% of women will experience depression after delivery.Postpartum psychosis occurs in about 1–2 per thousand women following childbirth. Among men, in particular new fathers, the incidence of postpartum depression has been estimated to be between 1% and 25.5%. In the United States, postpartum depression 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.
Symptoms of PPD can occur any time in the first year postpartum. Typically, postpartum depression is considered after signs and symptoms persist for at least two weeks. These symptoms include, but are not limited to:
Postpartum depression usually begins between two weeks to a month after delivery. Recent studies have shown that fifty percent of postpartum depressive episodes actually begin prior to delivery. Therefore, in the DSM-5, postpartum depression is diagnosed under "depressive disorder with peripartum onset", in which "peripartum onset" is defined as anytime either during pregnancy or within the four weeks following delivery. PPD may last several months or even a year. Postpartum depression can also occur in women who have suffered a miscarriage.
Postpartum depression can interfere with normal maternal-infant bonding and adversely affect child development. Postpartum depression may lead mothers to be inconsistent with childcare.
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