A study has found that women who experienced mood
disorders during pregnancy may be at risk for more severe postpartum depression
(PPD) than those whose symptoms begin after birth.
Also called postnatal depression, PPD is a type of clinical
depression which can affect women after childbirth.
“Clinicians should be aware of the diverse presentation of
women with postpartum depression,” said Samantha Meltzer-Brody, director of the
perinatal psychiatry programme at the University of North Carolina’s centre for
women’s mood disorders.
In the study, data from more than 10,000 women collected in
previous studies were analysed using a statistical technique called latent
class analysis widely used in psychiatry.
The clinical characteristics found to be most relevant in
defining the three subtypes were the timing of symptom onset (beginning during
pregnancy or after birth), the severity of symptoms (including thoughts of
suicide), a history of a previous mood disorder and whether or not a woman had
medical complications during pregnancy or childbirth.
Women with postpartum depression may experience any of three
distinct subtypes of clinical presentation, the researchers found.
“A thorough assessment of a women’s history is necessary to
guide appropriate clinical and treatment decisions,” Meltzer-Brody said.
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