Postpartum Depression

About 10-15% of women develop some kind of mood symptoms (mostly depression or irritable depression with mood volatility) within 12 weeks following delivery.

Baby Blues:

30-75% of women develop some kind of mild mood symptoms like tearfulness, confusion, sadness, or mood lability which start within 4-6 weeks post-delivery. They are usually attributed to hormonal changes, stress related to childbirth, and the awareness of the increased responsibility of upcoming motherhood. These symptoms resolve spontaneously and mostly no professional treatment is required. However, if symptoms persist for longer than 2 weeks, evaluation for postpartum depression is advisable.

Post Partum Psychosis:

• A psychotic disorder in women who have just delivered a baby.
• Symptoms could include depression, thoughts of harming herself or her baby, delusions, irritability, hyper emotionality, amplification and feeling terrible about thoughts and events of the past. Considering the severity of the symptoms, its important that the patient is closely monitored. Post Partum psychosis is considered a psychiatric emergency and the patient may require hospitalization.
• Its incidence is 1-2 per 1000 childbirths.
• 50-60% of them have just had their first child.
• 50% of the affected women have someone in their family suffering from a mood disorder.
• As many as 2/3rd of the patients’ second episode of an underlying mood disorder develops within 1 year after a baby’s birth.
• Symptoms begin within 2-3 weeks and almost always within 8 weeks of delivery. They may include fatigue, insomnia, suspiciousness, emotional lability, irrational statements, confusion, irrelevant and obsessive concerns about baby’s health, delusions and hallucinations that maybe the baby is dead or defective or harmful.
• Before the full-fledged symptoms develop, there might be mild prodromal symptoms like insomnia, restlessness, agitation, emotional lability, mild cognitive deficits etc.
• According to one study, 5% of the patients commit suicide and 4% of them commit infanticide.
• Subsequent pregnancies increase the risk of another episode.

Pseudocyesis

It is the presence of classic symptoms of pregnancy – nausea, breast enlargement and pigmentation, abdominal distension, amenorrhea, and labor pains – in a Non-Pregnant Woman.

It demonstrates the ability of the mind to dominate body via the hypothalamus (a part of our brain). A negative pregnancy test result or a negative ultrasound scan may or may not resolve the condition.