title: Breastfeeding and postpartum depression: state of the art review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review the literature on the association between breastfeeding and postpartum depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  A review of literature found on MEDLINE/PubMed database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The literature consistently shows that breastfeeding provides a wide range of benefits for both the child and the mother. The psychological benefits for the mother are still in need of further research. Some studies point out that pregnancy depression is one of the factors that may contribute to breastfeeding failure. Others studies also suggest an association between breastfeeding and postpartum depression; the direction of this association is still unclear. Breastfeeding can promote hormonal processes that protect mothers against postpartum depression by attenuating cortisol response to stress. It can also reduce the risk of postpartum depression, by helping the regulation of sleep and wake patterns for mother and child, improving mother's self-efficacy and her emotional involvement with the child, reducing the child's temperamental difficulties, and promoting a better interaction between mother and child.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Studies demonstrate that breastfeeding can protect mothers from postpartum depression, and are starting to clarify which biological and psychological processes may explain this protection. However, there are still equivocal results in the literature that may be explained by the methodological limitations presented by some studies.
authors.affiliation: Aggregation Escola de Psicologia, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal. bbfi@psi.uminho.pt
authors.forename: Bárbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Figueiredo
authors.forename: Cláudia C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Sónia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.forename: Catarina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Canário
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nunes-Costa
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Amamentação; Breastfeeding; Depressão na gravidez; Depressão pós-parto; Hormones; Hormônios; Postpartum depression; Pregnancy depression