Postpartum Depression Online Course(s) & Continuing Education

Maternal and paternal depression rates are elevated during the perinatal period compared to the normal population. Historically, fathers were excluded from perinatal mental health research but there is strong evidence that fathers have their own unique experiences that are more recently being considered within research. Mothers and fathers express and report depressive symptoms differently, which may influence detection of depression. Both parents’ mental health has an impact on parenting behaviors and the family functioning, which ultimately have an impact on child health. Perinatal clinical treatment would benefit from a comprehensive examination of the family dynamic to best provide treatment of perinatal depression and improve child health. Fathers can be utilized as an asset to mothers and clinicians to support maternal mental health. Future research is needed to optimize clinical treatment of perinatal mental illness that accounts for the full family dynamic.

It is well known that breastfeeding is beneficial to both mother and baby. What happens if breastfeeding is not well established? Researchers are looking closer to postpartum mood disorders and what influence breastfeeding may have in a new mother's psychological well being.

Postpartum depression has been linked to low breastfeeding rates, as well as lower duration rates. Postpartum depression falls under the diagnosis of "major depressive disorder with peripartum onset during pregnancy or in the weeks following delivery" (Bascom & Napolitano, 2015). It has been estimated that postpartum mood disorders, strike an estimated 10-20% of new mothers (Bascom & Napolitano, 2015). However, it has been argued that this number reflects only those women who have sought help for their symptoms. The probability that more women are affected by postpartum mood disorders is high.

Postpartum mood disorders adversely affect not only the health of the mother, but also the relationship with her partner, interaction with her newborn and infant growth (Yusuff, Tang, Binns, Lee, 2015). There are several predictors that can help determine if a woman is at risk for postpartum mood disorders, including mental health history, social status, and labor and delivery. Researchers have found that when more medical interventions were used during labor, the higher the depressive symptoms for the mother. This presentation will aid personnel working with new families to be aware of the signs and syptoms of postpartum mood disorders and how to preserve the breastfeeding relationship.

We will explore how dysfunctional thought patterns and habitual ways of being in relationships, based on life experiences, contribute to a woman’s approach to motherhood and the development of postpartum depression.

A number of recent studies have raised questions about the way we understand depression in new mothers. For example, what is the role of depression in breastfeeding cessation and does mothers’ prenatal intention to breastfeed make a difference? Researchers have also found that epidurals lower the risk of depression, but the sample sizes are often small. Finally, a concerning trend has emerged regarding the link between depression, PTSD, and preterm birth. Women with depression or PTSD are at increased risk for preterm birth. The World Health Organization has recently identified preterm birth as the single greatest cause of infant mortality worldwide. These findings also have important implications for racial/ethnic disparities in both preterm birth and infant mortality. This presentation will summarize and synthesize these recent studies and present new findings from the Survey of Mothers’ Sleep and Fatigue that address the link between birth interventions and depression in mothers.