Excerpt from Postpartum Depression
Synonyms, Key Words, and Related Terms: puerperal depression, postpartum blues, baby blues, postnatal depression, puerperal psychosis, infanticide, suicide, postpartum affective illness, postpartum psychosis, postpartum affective instability, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, EPDS, electroconvulsive therapy, ECT, puerperal mood disorders
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During the postpartum period, up to 85% of women experience some type of mood disturbance. For most women, symptoms are transient and relatively mild (ie, postpartum blues); however, 10-15% of women experience a more disabling and persistent form of mood disturbance (eg, postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis). Postpartum psychiatric illness was initially conceptualized as a group of disorders specifically linked to pregnancy and childbirth and thus was considered diagnostically distinct from other types of psychiatric illness. More recent evidence suggests that postpartum psychiatric illness is virtually indistinguishable from psychiatric disorders that occur at other times during a woman's life. Although effective nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic treatments are available, both patients and their caregivers frequently overlook postpartum depression. Untreated postpartum affective illness places both the mother and infant at risk and is associated with significant long-term effects on child development and behavior; therefore, prompt recognition and treatment of postpartum depression are essential for both maternal and infant well-being.
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