Clinical interviews effective in predicting postpartum depression
Twenty percent of adult women will experience an episode of major depressive disorder at some point in their lives. Women with a history of depression are particularly vulnerable to depression after they give birth. UCLA researchers recognized that there is a lack of data on predictors of postpartum depression in women with previous histories of depression but who don't suffer from it during pregnancy. From April 2003 to March 2009, researchers recruited 343 pregnant women who were not suffering from depression at the time of conception but who had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder at some time prior to pregnancy. Women with bipolar disorder , schizophrenia or a substance abuse disorder were not included. Scientists enrolled participants in the study between 12 and 36 weeks gestation. A study psychiatrist assessed each woman's mood and psychotropic medication at least twice, once within 60 days before their babies' due dates and again within 60 days after ...