CARACTERIZACIÓN DE MADRES DEPRIMIDAS EN EL POSPARTO

Resumen

Pospartum depression (PPD) is a mood disorder that occurs during a specific period of womens’ lifetime, the puerperium. The prevalence of PPD ranges from 8% to 30%, and a three-fold increase is seen in emerging as compared to developed countries.

Methodology: Sociodemographics, obstetrical antecedents, clinical symptomatology and puerperal care of 440 postpartum women that sought help in primary care and were diagnosed as depressed are described.

Results: These women had no paid employment (82.7%), had unplanned pregnancies (62.5%) and lacked adequate social support (59.4%). From the clinical viewpoint, most of these puerperal women had a family history of depression (64.2%); and 31% of them had suffered from previous depressive episodes. The clinical symptomatology of these patients consisted of depressed mood (93.2%), anhedonia (87.9%) and fatigue (87%).

Conclusions: Women depressed in the postpartum form a group that requires more clinical attention due to its great biological vulnerability, active depressive symptomatology, and enormous psychosocial risk. The mother and child programme, which benefits them, needs to be combined with a mental health component that can offer them a treatment adapted to their psychosocial context.