Postpartum Depression News and Research

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Eighty percent of women experience some level of the baby blues after giving birth, and symptoms usually clear up on their own. One in eight-to-ten women experiences postpartum depression. When symptoms don't go away in a few weeks, women should seek help through health care providers and licensed counselors. Treatment may include talk therapy, medication, support groups, or a combination of these.

Biomarker linked to depression during pregnancy and low birth weight in baby

Depression is very common during pregnancy, with as many as one in seven women suffering from the illness and more than a half million women impacted by postpartum depression in the U.S. alone.

12 Jan 2017

Woman’s history of drug use can help predict risk of postpartum stress and anxiety

New research from North Carolina State University and the University of British Columbia finds that a woman's lifetime history of drug use can help predict whether the woman will suffer from problems with stress and anxiety after childbirth.

8 Dec 2016

Church and spirituality could help in treating mothers of color with PPD symptoms

Churches and other faith-based communities are an untapped resource that health-care providers should consider when suggesting treatment options for African-American and Latina mothers who have histories of postpartum depression (PPD), according to the findings of a newly published study by a University at Buffalo-led research team.

6 Dec 2016

Maternal depression may affect child's brain development at critical stages in life

Depressive symptoms in women during and after pregnancy are associated with reduced thickness of the cortex-the outer layer of the brain responsible for complex thought and behavior-in preschool-age kids, according to a new study published in Biological Psychiatry.

15 Nov 2016

Women who experience pain relief from epidural analgesia less likely to have postpartum depression

Epidural anesthesia may do more than relieve pain during labor; in some women it may decrease the likelihood of postpartum depression, suggests a preliminary study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2016 annual meeting.

26 Oct 2016

Social, emotional factors may raise risk of postpartum depression in mothers of preterm infants

Postpartum depression is the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting up to 15 percent of all women within the first three months following delivery.

14 Sep 2016

Pregnant women with bipolar disorder at higher risk for developing postpartum psychosis

Pregnant women with bipolar disorder and their families and physicians should be aware of a significantly higher risk for developing postpartum psychosis, according to a new Northwestern Medicine review of literature on the rare and under-researched disorder.

9 Sep 2016

Research shows how breastfeeding rates differ among white, black and Hispanic mothers

Chapman University has published research on how breastfeeding rates differ among white, black and Hispanic mothers.

13 Jul 2016

Non-drug solutions for postpartum depression: an interview with Dr David Brock & Christopher Thatcher

Postpartum depression (PPD) is reported to occur in 10-15% of delivering women with an estimated 400,000 women affected annually in the US. It is the most common complication of childbirth and is a significant public health concern.

11 Jul 2016

Women more afraid of childbirth than previously thought

Every woman who has ever had a baby shower has had to sit through the gruesome war stories about labor and childbirth.

27 Jun 2016

Study evaluates rate of depression in mothers based on different onset times

Postpartum depression--a household term since actress Brooke Shields went public in 2005 about her struggle with it--is indeed serious. But depression that begins before or during pregnancy is often more severe because it lasts longer and usually goes undetected until the doctor screens for it after the birth of the baby, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.

16 Jun 2016

Study demonstrates effectiveness of NeuroStar TMS Therapy System in women with postpartum depression

An unfortunate fact facing mothers in the U.S. is that postpartum depression is the most common complication of childbirth. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of women who give birth each year – or roughly 600,000 women – experience postpartum depression symptoms.

18 May 2016

Formal mental health therapies offer little relief from postpartum depression for low-income mothers of color

Health care providers and human service agencies often manage postpartum depression with formal mental health treatments and antidepressant therapies, but for new, low-income mothers of color these interventions often provide little relief from the mood disorder that sometimes follows childbirth, according to a new study led by a University at Buffalo researcher.

5 May 2016

Higher oxytocin in pregnancy predicts severity of postpartum depression symptoms

Higher oxytocin levels in the third trimester of pregnancy predicts the severity of postpartum depression symptoms in women who previously suffered from depression, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

23 Mar 2016

Victims of sexual abuse stop breastfeeding early, study finds

More than two out of ten women who have been victims of sexual abuse as children are likely to stop breastfeeding before their babies reach four months, according to a new study.

10 Mar 2016

Study finds strong link between postpartum disorder and suicide risk in new mothers

Over a period spanning four decades, a total of eight Danish women committed suicide within a year of being diagnosed with a birth-related psychiatric disorder, including severe episodes of postpartum depression or psychosis.

7 Mar 2016

Online intervention tool helps rural veteran women suffering from postpartum depression

A University of Iowa researcher is working with the Veterans Administration on a pilot program to help female veterans suffering from postpartum depression.

13 Jan 2016

AbilTo launches three-week Booster Program to address ongoing behavioral health challenges

AbilTo, Inc., the leading provider of tele-behavioral health programs proven to improve medical outcomes and lower costs for high-risk medical populations, today announced the launch of its three-week Booster Program, which helps graduates of AbilTo's standard eight-week programs strengthen and refine their cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills and apply them to current challenges.

1 Dec 2015

University of Louisville professor wins 2015 Elizabeth McWilliams Miller Award for Excellence in Research

M. Cynthia Logsdon, Ph.D., WHNP-BC, FAAN, Professor, University of Louisville, School of Nursing and Associate Chief of Nursing for Research, University of Louisville Hospital has won the 2015 Elizabeth McWilliams Miller Award for Excellence in Research from Sigma Theta Tau International, the honor society of nursing.

24 Oct 2015

Controlling TH-containing neurons can manipulate maternal behavior of females and aggression of males

Most female mammals give birth and care for their offspring, while the males often breed with multiple partners and play little role in parenting once the mating is over. Yet researchers have had a hard time pinpointing where, exactly, in the brain these differences between the sexes are located and how they translate into behavior. The extent of "hardwired parental behavior" is hotly disputed.

8 Oct 2015