POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

Any mother who has suffered with a maternal mental health issue will tell you that perinatal mood and anxiety disorders almost always cause sleep problems. Insomnia is a common side effect of postpartum depression (PPD), but is PPD a side-effect of sleep deprivation? Are there ways that lack of sleep can affect your postpartum depression?

"A study published in the current issue of the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing shows that depression sympoms worsen in PPD patients when their quality of sleep declines". Sleep deprivation can hamper a mother's ability to care for her infant, as judgment and concentration decline. Sleep-deprived mothers also may inadvertently compromise their infants' sleep quality because infants often adopt their mothers' circadian sleep rhythms.

Postpartum depression occurs in women soon after giving birth. Symptoms include sadness and hopelessness. Counseling and antidepressants are treatment options.

The resources on this page provide information on effective screening, referral, and support for perinatal/postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common, potentially disabling, and, in some cases, life-threatening condition. Fortunately, PPD is also readily detectable in routine practice and is amenable to treatment by a wide variety of modalities that are effective for treating non-puerperal major depression.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major form of depression and is less common than postpartum blues. PPD includes all the symptoms of depression but occurs only following childbirth. It can begin any time after delivery and can last up to a year. PPD is estimated to occur in approximately 10 to 20 percent of new mothers.