Postpartum Depression

Depression during the postpartum period can best be considered an accident of timing; research has suggested that the rates, antecedents, course, and quality of depression during the postpartum period are similar to episodes experienced at other times in a woman's life. Although some research has suggested that negative life events during pregnancy and following delivery (such as financial difficulties, unemployment, and poor marital adjustment) may be associated with the onset of postpartum depression in new mothers, research in the late 1990s identified a previous instance of major depression as the most salient risk factor for postpartum depression.