Mental health articles

postpartum depression symptoms handout It appears that the postpartum period, with its disrupted sleep wake cycle, fatigue,
role changes, dynamic triggers, and hormonal shifts, puts women at more of a
pronounced risk for mood episodes than at any other time in their reproductive lives. Other factors that confer heightened risk for depression during pregnancy/ postpartum include a prior history of depression, young age ,limited social supports,ambivalence about
pregnancy, marital conflicts,unmarried marital status,and prior history of significant premenstrual symptoms.Though many medical and psychosocial factors can increase the risk of developing perinatal depression, both clinician and patient should be aware of the
elevated risk for depression if risk factors such as those described above are present.
It is the task of mental health providers to help women weigh the risks of mental illness to themselves and their offspring versus the risks of pharmacologic and other treatments in the perinatal period. A woman experiencing mild symptoms of mood or anxiety disturbance, without sleep disturbance and without prior psychiatric history, may be at less risk of a severe episode than a woman with a history of past psychiatric illness, need for pharmacologic treatment, or history of suicidality
or hospitalization. The risks of treatment should be considered along side of the risks of nontreatment—resulting in differing treatment plans.