To investigate the relationship between maternal depression and infant temperament in a Japanese population, a prospective questionnaire survey was administered in the postpartum period. Postnatal depression was assessed by Zung's (1965) Self-Rating Depression Scale on two occasions (5 days and 12 months after delivery). At 6 months and 18 months after birth, infant temperament was assessed usi...

BACKGROUND Postpartum depression is a common psychiatric disorder in parturients after delivery. The etiology remains unclear, and multiple factors may be involved. In this study, we investigated whether epidural labor analgesia was associated with a decreased risk of postpartum depression development. METHODS Two hundred fourteen parturients who were preparing for a vaginal delivery were enr...

Testing a model suggested by J. Bowlby (1988), this study investigated how a personal vulnerability (attachment ambivalence) interacts with perceptions of deficient spousal support before and during a major life stressor (the transition to parenthood) to predict pre-to-postnatal increases in depressive symptoms. Highly ambivalent women who entered parenthood perceiving either less support or gr...

A population-based cohort study investigated postnatal depression in Brazilian women who attempted an abortion. Participants' views and actions on abortion were assessed during pregnancy and postnatal depression was evaluated with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. An unsuccessful abortion attempt was associated with postnatal depression (adjusted OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.0-2.5). In Brazil abo...

OBJECTIVE Mothers of multiple births face higher rates of postpartum depression, yet evidence on the marital consequences of multiple births is limited. We examined the association between twin births and parental divorce. METHODS We used the 1980 U.S. Census to identify a large sample of mothers with and without twin births. The goal was to estimate multivariate logistic models of the associ...

5 List of original papers 6

Women suffering from post-natal depression were interviewed about their symptoms, help-seeking behaviour and treatment. Over 90% recognized there was something wrong, but only one-third believed they were suffering from post-natal depression. Over 80% had not reported their symptoms to any health professional.

BACKGROUND Both maternal and paternal depression during the perinatal period are associated with adverse effects on child outcomes. Attention has started to focus on the mechanisms mediating these relationships. Marital conflict may play a role in this context. METHODS In a large cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n = 14,541 pregnancies), we aimed to (i) invest...

PURPOSE To determine whether a high rate of postpartum depression (PPD), previously found in immigrant Hispanic women at a community clinic, would also be found in a community sample. DATA SOURCES Sixty women from local community settings were given the PPDS-S instrument and the General Acculturation Index to screen for PPD symptoms. Data were then compared with previously published community...