Online first
Review paper
Published online: 2025-03-25
Postpartum emotional disorders — a narrative review
1
, 1
, 1
DOI: 10.5603/gpl.104124
Pubmed: 40145696
Abstract
Emotional disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period affect many women worldwide and present a significant challenge in perinatal care. The first year after childbirth is particularly demanding for a woman’s emotional well-being, as it is marked by profound physical, emotional, and social changes.
The aim of this article is to review and compare the latest data on the prevalence, risk factors, and treatment options for baby blues and postpartum depression.
For this purpose, the electronic databases — including PubMed, NLM, MDPI, Europe PMC, and Google Scholar — were searched for recent English-language articles with full-text availability. The search terms included: postpartum depression, baby blues, maternity blues, postpartum depression prevalence, postpartum depression risk factors, postpartum depression treatment, online psychotherapy, and postpartum depression covid. The review was compiled and evaluated using SANRA (Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles).
Keywords: postpartum depressionbaby bluesmaternity bluesEdinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
References
- Garapati J, Jajoo S, Aradhya D, et al. Postpartum mood disorders: insights into diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Cureus. 2023; 15(7): e42107.
- Le Bas G, Youssef G, Macdonald JA, et al. The role of antenatal and postnatal maternal bonding in infant development. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022; 61(6): 820–829.e1.
- Carlson K, Mughal S, Azhar Y, et al. Postpartum Depression. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. 2025.
- Baethge C, Goldbeck-Wood S, Mertens S. SANRA-a scale for the quality assessment of narrative review articles. Res Integr Peer Rev. 2019; 4: 5.
- Tosto V, Ceccobelli M, Lucarini E, et al. Maternity Blues: A Narrative Review. J Pers Med. 2023; 13(1).
- Manjunath NG, Venkatesh G. Postpartum blue is common in socially and economically insecure mothers. Indian J Community Med. 2011; 36(3): 231–233.
- Gonidakis F. Maternity blues. Psychiatrike. 2007; 18: 132–142.
- Fossey L, Papiernik E, Bydlowski M. Postpartum blues: a clinical syndrome and predictor of postnatal depression? J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 1997; 18(1): 17–21.
- Chechko N, Losse E, Frodl T, et al. Baby blues, premenstrual syndrome and postpartum affective disorders: intersection of risk factors and reciprocal influences. BJPsych Open. 2023; 10(1): e3.
- Rezaie-Keikhaie K, Arbabshastan ME, Rafiemanesh H, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of the maternity blues in the postpartum period. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2020; 49(2): 127–136.
- Adeyemo EO, Oluwole EO, Kanma-Okafor OJ, et al. Prevalence and predictors of postpartum depression among postnatal women in Lagos, Nigeria. Afr Health Sci. 2020; 20(4): 1943–1954.
- Seyfried LS, Marcus SM. Postpartum mood disorders. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2003; 15(3): 231–242.
- Arrouf A, Rahayu SP. Kondisi psikologis ibu yang mengalami baby blues pasca melahirkan. Tabularasa J Ilm Magister Psikol. 2024; 6(1): 27–33.
- Sakumoto K, Masamoto H, Kanazawa K. Post-partum maternity "blues" as a reflection of newborn nursing care in Japan. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2002; 78(1): 25–30.
- Trigo M. Postpartum depression: How it differs from the “baby blues”. Eur Psychiatry. 2021; 64(S1): S694–S695.
- Nechaeva E, Kharkova O, Postoev V, et al. Awareness of postpartum depression among midwives and pregnant women in Arkhangelsk, Arctic Russia. Glob Health Action. 2024; 17(1).
- Wang Z, Liu J, Shuai H, et al. Mapping global prevalence of depression among postpartum women. Transl Psychiatry. 2021; 11(1): 543.
- Arefadib N, Cooklin A, Nicholson J, et al. Postnatal depression and anxiety screening and management by maternal and child health nurses in community settings: A scoping review. Midwifery. 2021; 100: 103039.
- Abenova M, Myssayev A, Kanya L, et al. Prevalence of postpartum depression and its associated factors within a year after birth in Semey, Kazakhstan: A cross sectional study. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health. 2022; 16: 101103.
- Yakupova V, Liutsko L. Perinatal depression, birth experience, marital satisfaction and childcare sharing: a study in russian mothers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18(11).
- Sioma-Markowska U, Krawczyk P, Brzęk A. Assessing the risk of depression tendency in pregnancy and puerperium during COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. Healthcare (Basel). 2023; 11(14).
- Payne JL, Maguire J, et al. Pathophysiological mechanisms implicated in postpartum depression. Front Neuroendocrinol. 2019; 52: 165–180.
- Pinsonneault JK, Sullivan D, Sadee W, et al. Association study of the estrogen receptor gene ESR1 with postpartum depression--a pilot study. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2013; 16(6): 499–509.
- Cannon C, Nasrallah HA, et al. A focus on postpartum depression among African American women: A literature review. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2019; 31: 138–143.
- Flor-Alemany M, Sandborg J, Migueles JH, et al. Exercise, mediterranean diet adherence or both during pregnancy to prevent postpartum depression-gestafit trial secondary analyses. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(21): 42–45.
- Wiciński M, Malinowski B, Puk O, et al. Methyldopa as an inductor of postpartum depression and maternal blues: A review. Biomed Pharmacother. 2020; 127: 110196.
- Boekhorst MG, Muskens L, Hulsbosch LP, et al. The COVID-19 outbreak increases maternal stress during pregnancy, but not the risk for postpartum depression. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2021; 24(6): 1037–1043.
- Pariente G, Wissotzky Broder O, Sheiner E, et al. Risk for probable post-partum depression among women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2020; 23(6): 767–773.
- Silverman ME, Burgos L, Rodriguez ZI, et al. Postpartum mood among universally screened high and low socioeconomic status patients during COVID-19 social restrictions in New York City. Sci Rep. 2020; 10(1): 22380.
- Zanardo V, Manghina V, Giliberti L, et al. Psychological impact of COVID-19 quarantine measures in northeastern Italy on mothers in the immediate postpartum period. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2020; 150(2): 184–188.
- Safi-Keykaleh M, Aliakbari F, Safarpour H, et al. Prevalence of postpartum depression in women amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2022; 157(2): 240–247.
- Chen Q, Li W, Xiong J, et al. Prevalence and risk factors associated with postpartum depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: A literature review and meta-analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(4).
- Usmani S, Greca E, Javed S, et al. Risk factors for postpartum depression during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic literature review. J Prim Care Community Health. 2021; 12: 21501327211059348.
- Cox J. Thirty years with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: voices from the past and recommendations for the future. Br J Psychiatry. 2019; 214(3): 127–129.
- Taylor BL, Nath S, Sokolova AY, et al. The relationship between social support in pregnancy and postnatal depression. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2022; 57(7): 1435–1444.
- Screening and diagnosis of mental health conditions during pregnancy and postpartum: ACOG clinical practice guideline no. 4. Obstet Gynecol. 2023; 141(6): 1232–1261.
- Alves S, Fonseca A, Canavarro MC, et al. Preliminary psychometric testing of the postpartum depression predictors inventory-revised (PDPI-R) in portuguese women. Matern Child Health J. 2018; 22(4): 571–578.
- Rozporządzenie Ministra Zdrowia z dnia 16 sierpnia 2018 r. w sprawie standardu organizacyjnego opieki okołoporodowej. Dz U. 2018; poz. 1324. https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20180001756/O/D20181756.pdf.
- Treatment and management of mental health conditions during pregnancy and postpartum: ACOG clinical practice guideline no. 5. Obstet Gynecol. 2023; 141(6): 1262–1288.
- Dominiak M, Antosik-Wojcinska AZ, Baron M, et al. Recommendations for the prevention and treatment of postpartum depression. Ginekol Pol. 2021; 92(2): 153–164.
- International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11). World Health Organization. 2019/2021. https://icd.who.int/browse11.
- Anderson G, Maes M. Postpartum depression: psychoneuroimmunological underpinnings and treatment. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2013; 9: 277–287.
- Suharwardy S, Ramachandran M, Leonard S, et al. Effect of an automated conversational agent on postpartum mental health: A randomized, controlled trial. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2020; 222(1): S91.
- Qin X, Liu C, Zhu W, et al. Preventing postpartum depression in the early postpartum period using an app-based cognitive behavioral therapy program: a pilot randomized controlled study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(24).
- Jannati N, Mazhari S, Ahmadian L, et al. Effectiveness of an app-based cognitive behavioral therapy program for postpartum depression in primary care: A randomized controlled trial. Int J Med Inform. 2020; 141: 104145.
- Tajan N, Devès M, Potier R. Tele-psychotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mini-review. Front Psychiatry. 2023; 14: 1060961.
- Schiller B, Kuska M, Becher-Urbaniak S, et al. Online psychotherapy as a first clinical experience during the Covid-19 pandemic: A new generation of psychotherapists in the digital age. Heliyon. 2024; 10(8): e29464.
- Chi D, Zhang Y, Zhou D, et al. The effectiveness and associated factors of online psychotherapy on COVID-19 related distress: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Psychol. 2022; 13: 1045400.
- Zeng M, Gong A, Wu Z. Paroxetine combined with traditional chinese medicine prescriptions in the treatment of postpartum depression: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Front Neuroendocrinol. 2022; 67: 101019.
