title: Psycho-social stress and puerperal depression.
abstract: This study assessed the role of psycho-social stress in the development of psychiatric disorder during pregnancy and after childbirth. The samples were a consecutive series of women admitted to a psychiatric Mother and Baby Unit with a depressive illness and a random sample of women who had recently given birth. Whereas prepartum-onset disturbances were found to be overwhelmingly stress-related, women with a postpartum onset of depression were considerably less likely to have experienced a recent stress event or difficulty before onset. The relative lack of psycho-social antecedents among women who became ill within 2-3 weeks of giving birth strengthens the argument that puerperal depression may have a distinct, possibly biological aetiology.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit in Health and Behavioural Change, University of Edinsburgh, U.K.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: I F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Brockington
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D011247:Pregnancy; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*