Postpartum depression: Etiology, treatment and consequences for maternal care
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "Parental Care". Pregnancy and postpartum are associated with dramatic alterations in steroid and peptide hormones which alter the mothers' hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic pituitary gonadal (HPG) axes. Dysregulations in these endocrine axes are related to mood disorders and as such it should not come as a major surprise that pregnancy and the postpartum period can have profound effects on maternal mood. Indeed, pregnancy and postpartum are associated with an increased risk for developing depressive symptoms in women. Postpartum depression affects approximately 10-15% of women and impairs mother-infant interactions that in turn are important for child development. Maternal attachment, sensitivity and parenting style are essential for a healthy maturation of an infant's social, cognitive and behavioral skills and depressed mothers often display less attachment, sensitivity and more harsh or disrupted parenting behaviors, which may contribute to reports of adverse child outcomes in children of depressed mothers. Here we review, in honor of the "father of motherhood", Jay Rosenblatt, the literature on postnatal depression in the mother and its effect on mother-infant interactions. We will cover clinical and pre-clinical findings highlighting putative neurobiological mechanisms underlying postpartum depression and how they relate to maternal behaviors and infant outcome. We also review animal models that investigate the…
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Patients who have stopped mood stabilizing treatment, particularly lithium, are at greater risk of decompensation than those who continued it (70% vs. 24%).
“Patients who have stopped their mood stabilizing treatment, particularly lithium, are thought to be at greater risk of having an episode of decompensation than those who have continued it (70% vs. 24%).”
From Maternal Postpartum Psychosis: A Case of Infanticide (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
A family history is a significant risk factor for postpartum psychosis.
“A family history is also thought to be a significant risk factor”
From Maternal Postpartum Psychosis: A Case of Infanticide (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
In women with bipolar disorder and a history of postpartum psychosis in a first-degree relative, the risk of postpartum psychosis is estimated to be 74%.
“in women with bipolar disorder and a history of postpartum psychosis in a first-degree relative, the risk is estimated to be 74% [9,10].”
From Maternal Postpartum Psychosis: A Case of Infanticide (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
Bipolar disorder is thought to carry a 30% risk of postpartum psychosis.
“Bipolar disorder is thought to carry a 30% risk of postpartum psychosis.”
From Maternal Postpartum Psychosis: A Case of Infanticide (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
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Maternal Postpartum Psychosis: A Case of Infanticide
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- Authors
- Brummelte, S., & Galea, L. A. M.
- Affiliations
- Wayne State University (US)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Brummelte, Susanne
- Venue
- Hormones and Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2016-01
- Volume
- 77
- Pages
- 153-166
- ISSN
- 0018-506X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1218374853
- Cited by
- 567
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 27 · 2025: 70 · 2024: 51 · 2023: 63 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 72 · 2020: 94 · 2019: 53 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 3.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Hormones and Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR MOP102568)
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- postpartum depression, maternal mood, mother-infant interaction, maternal care, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, glucocorticoids, maternal attachment, parental behavior, neurobiology of depression, pregnancy
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Animals, Child Development, Depression, Female, Humans, Infant, Maternal Behavior, Mother-Child Relations, Mothers, Pregnancy, Risk Factors, Depression, Postpartum, Postpartum Period
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