The Impacts Of Postpartum Depression On Children Postpartum Depresyonun Çocuklar Üzerine Etkileri

57 Postpartum depression describes a heterogeneous group of depressive symptoms and syndromes of women that occurs during the first year following childbirth (1,2). The American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) uses the term “postpartum” more specifically to describe symptoms of major depressive disorder beginning within 4 weeks of delivery (1,3,4). The peak prevalence for postpartum depression is at 10 to 14 weeks after delivery, however, new-onset cases occur throughout the year (1,3). Postpartum depression affects 10 to 20% of new mothers each year, and this prevalence appears to be consistent across a variety of cultural and ethnic groups (3-5).