Postpartum depression

Introduction: Postpartum depression

True postnatal depression can be a severe mental illness. However, the massive hormonal, physical, and emotional effects from childbirth and a new baby are well known to cause emotional symptoms. It is normal to suffer some level of "baby blues", and particularly common is some level of crying or distress on the third day after birth. It's not easy being a mother and first-time mothers often feel overwhelmed. A new mother feeling down, moody, or a bit "depressed" does not usually warrant the diagnosis of full postnatal depression. However, persistent depressive symptoms do need professional medical investigation.

Symptoms of Postpartum depression

• See also symptoms of depression
• Mood changes
• Sadness
• Despair
• Anxiety

See full list of 41 symptoms of Postpartum depression

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Postpartum depression:

• Mental Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Emotional Stress Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Postpartum depression

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Postpartum depression

• Thyroid tests

Read more about tests for Postpartum depression

Wrongly Diagnosed with Postpartum depression?

• Misdiagnosis of Postpartum depression
• Underlying causes of Postpartum depression (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

Misdiagnosis and Postpartum depression

Cluster of diseases with difficult diagnosis issues: There is a well-known list of medical conditions that are all somewhat difficult to diagnose, and all can present in a variety of different severities. Diseases in this group...read more »

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Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease is often over-diagnosed. Patients tend to assume that any...read more »

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions, such as a ...read more »

Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease. The reality is that there are various possibilities, such as benign essential...read more »

ADHD under-diagnosed in adults: Although the over-diagnoses of ADHD in children is a well-known controversy, the reverse side related to adults. Some adults can remain undiagnosed, and indeed the condition has usually been overlooked...read more »

Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's. The disease Fragile X disorder can show only...read more »

Bipolar disorder misdiagosed as various conditions by primary physicians: Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder) often fails to be diagnosed correctly by primary care physicians. Many...read more »

Eating disorders under-diagnosed in men: The typical patient with an eating disorder is female. The result is that men with eating disorders often fail to be diagnosed or have a...read more »

Depression undiagnosed in teenagers: Serious bouts of depression can be undiagnosed in teenagers. The "normal" moodiness of teenagers can cause severe medical depression to be...read more »

Undiagnosed anxiety disorders related to depression: Patients with depression (see symptoms of depression) may also have undiagnosed anxiety disorders (see symptoms of anxiety disorders). Failure to diagnose these anxiety disorders...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Postpartum depression

Causes of Postpartum depression

Read more about causes of Postpartum depression.

More information about causes of Postpartum depression:

• Postpartum depression as a complication caused by other conditions
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Postpartum depression

Treatments for Postpartum depression

• Antidepressant medications
• Psychotherapy
• Supportive treatments
  • Rest
  • Emotional support

See full list of 9 treatments for Postpartum depression

Videos for Postpartum depression

Patient Surveys for Postpartum depression

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Postpartum depression
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Prognosis for Postpartum depression

Prognosis for Postpartum depression: Often temporary.

More about prognosis of Postpartum depression

Reseach about Postpartum depression

Visit our research pages for current research about Postpartum depression treatments.

Clinical Trials for Postpartum depression

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Postpartum depression include:

• Outcome of Postnatal Depression Screening Using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Effectiveness of Supplemental Calcium in Preventing Postpartum Depression - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Elemental calcium (as carbonate)
• The Effects of Hormones in Postpartum Mood Disorders - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Lupron
• Lexapro in the Treatment of Patients With Postpartum Depression - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Escitalopram (Lexapro)
• Clinical Trial of Estrogen for Postpartum Depression - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - 17 beta-estradiol

See full list of 21 Clinical Trials for Postpartum depression

Statistics for Postpartum depression

• Medical statistics for Postpartum depression
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Postpartum depression
• Death and Mortality statistics for Postpartum depression
• Society statistics for Postpartum depression

Types of Postpartum depression

• Baby blues

Read more about Types of Postpartum depression

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Postpartum depression

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Postpartum depression

See all guides and ebooks for Postpartum depression

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Postpartum depression, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
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Article Excerpts about Postpartum depression

The term postpartum depression describes the range of physical, emotional, and behavioral changes that many new mothers experience following the delivery of their babies. Symptoms of this condition can range from mild to severe. A new mother's depression may be a mild, brief bout of "baby blues"; or she may suffer from postpartum depression, a much more serious condition. In some cases, new mothers may have postpartum psychosis, a relatively rare but severe and incapacitating illness. (Source: excerpt from Postpartum Depression Fact Sheet: NWHIC)

Definitions of Postpartum depression:

Depression in women occurring usually shortly after the delivery of a child; degree of depression ranges from mild transient depression to neurotic or psychotic depressive disorders. - (Source - Diseases Database)

Postpartum depression is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Postpartum depression, or a subtype of Postpartum depression, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)