Postpartum mood disorders

Research on postpartum mood disorders covers risk, identification and care. Studies look at risk stratification at hospital discharge, the prediction and timely identification of postpartum depression, and how depression during pregnancy across trimesters relates to depression after birth. An observational study examines epidural analgesia during labor and postpartum depression, and a prospective cohort study links inpatient postpartum recovery with patient-reported outcomes after discharge.

On the care side, systematic reviews and meta-analyses examine antenatal psychological interventions and interpersonal psychotherapy for postpartum depression, and a review considers breastfeeding in women with postpartum depression. Review articles also describe new approaches to perinatal depression more broadly.

Parents and partners commonly ask who is at risk, how screening works and what treatment can involve. The evidence is still being refined on several of these points. An educator may want class content to describe mood and anxiety changes in plain language and to reflect that the research looks at both prevention and treatment. The papers below are the ones the Hub tracks on this topic.