This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (45)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Women's Health, Other  • Psychiatry  • Depression  • Alert me on articles by topic

Laura J. Miller, MD

JAMA. 2002;287:762-765.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

INTRODUCTION

Clinicians since Hippocrates have noted an association between the postpartum period and mood disturbances.¹ This linkage entered official psychiatric nomenclature in 1994, when the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition defined major depression with postpartum onset as episodes of depression beginning within 4 weeks of giving birth.² This time period corresponds to the rapid hormonal changes posited to contribute to vulnerability to depression. However, because psychosocial factors also play a major role in triggering postpartum depression, most researchers use a working definition of the postpartum period as lasting up to 6 months after delivery.

The devastating familial consequences of postpartum depression have been underscored by recent media attention to women who have killed themselves or their children while depressed.^3-4 Heightened public awareness may make it appear that the prevalence of postpartum depression is increasing. It is not known whether this is . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Postpartum Blues

Postpartum Nonpsychotic Depression

Postpartum Psychotic Depression

Pregnancy Loss

Treatment

Prevention

Conclusions

Author Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago.

RELATED ARTICLES

February 13, 2002
JAMA. 2002;287(6):785-786.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Postpartum Depression
JAMA. 2002;287(6):802.
PDF  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

New Parents and Mental Disorders: A Population-Based Register Study
Munk-Olsen et al.
JAMA 2006;296:2582-2589.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Global satisfaction with perinatal hospital care: stability and relationship to anxiety, depression, and stressful medical events.
Britton
American Journal of Medical Quality 2006;21:200-205.
ABSTRACT  

Symptoms of Postpartum Depression and Breastfeeding
Hatton et al.
J Hum Lact 2005;21:444-449.
ABSTRACT  

Personality Factors as Determinants of Depression in Postpartum Women: A Prospective 1-Year Follow-up Study
Verkerk et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2005;67:632-637.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Are Family Physicians Appropriately Screening for Postpartum Depression?
Seehusen et al.
J Am Board Fam Med 2005;18:104-112.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Implications of Family Income Dynamics for Women's Depressive Symptoms During the First 3 Years After Childbirth
Dearing et al.
Am. J. Public Health 2004;94:1372-1377.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Postpartum Practices and Depression Prevalences: Technocentric and Ethnokinship Cultural Perspectives
Posmontier and Horowitz
J Transcult Nurs 2004;15:34-43.
ABSTRACT  

Clinician Support and Psychosocial Risk Factors Associated With Breastfeeding Discontinuation
Taveras et al.
Pediatrics 2003;112:108-115.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Review: mothers with postpartum depression had to readjust expectations, cope with loss, and find ways to meet needs
Sword
Evid. Based Ment. Health 2002;5:128-128.
FULL TEXT