Depresia post-partum – prevenţie, diagnostic şi abordare terapeutică

Post-partum depression is a very important psychiatric path­ology, with a negative impact not only on the mother, but also on the child and the family as a whole. The risk factors that can contribute to the appearance of this mental illness are psychosocial, biological and genetic, childhood trau­mas and personal traits of the mother also playing an im­portant role in the occurrence of depressive symptoms. The diagnosis of post-partum depression involves the ne­ces­sity to identify people at risk by screening, redirecting the case to psychiatric services, monitoring the evolution and the treatment. The diagnosis of post-partum depression sets a psychiatric pathological precedent, the mother being thus prone to relapse during life. The evolution of post-partum depression may vary depending on bio-psycho-social fac­tors involved in its etiopathogenesis. The behavioral changes in the child of the mother diagnosed with post-partum depression lay the foundations of a vicious cycle; the child may be predisposed to developing the same pathology. The importance of prevention through screening and ensuring good psychosocial support helps to reduce the incidence of post-partum depression, thus having a positive impact on children and family life, but also a decrease in the costs of depression treatment.