Abstract
Background: The baby blues and postpartum depression are two of the three major entities of psychic disorders related to the puerperium. There exists a chronological distinction of these conditions which equally vary according to severity and prognosis. Objectives: This study aimed at investigating a possible relationship between the baby blues and postpartum depression in newly delivered Cameroonian women. Method: A retrospective study with case-control design was carried out at the Yaounde Gyneco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital (YGOPH) over a period of 6 months on a sample of 214 newly delivered women. The group of cases consisted of women diagnosed with postpartum depression, while the group of controls consisted of women without postpartum depression. Subjects that were earlier checked for baby blues using the Kennerley and Gath blues questionnaire during the 1st week following delivery, were reassessed between the 4th and 6th weeks to diagnose postpartum depression. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to separate various groups and a retrospective cross checking was made. Results: We recruited 214 newly delivered women, among which 50 (23.36%) manifested postpartum depression while 164 (76.63%) women did not. Up to 31 (62%) of women with postpartum depression had earlier manifested the baby blues. After multivariate analysis of risk factors, the baby blues appeared as one of the independent predictive factors for postpartum depression (OR=3.52, p=0.00). Conclusion: The baby blues was not only a risk factor, but also an independent predictive factor for the manifestation of postpartum depression in this survey. Therefore, the prevention and early management of the baby blues during the perinatal period may help to prevent the onset of postpartum depression.
Highlights
Postpartum is a period of emotional and psychological upset for a woman’s life [1]
A number of newly delivered women complain of psychological tension, environmental stress, mood and emotional instability few days into postpartum. These accompanied by behavioural disorders such as unexpected irritability, crying, indifference with regard to the baby, refusal to breastfeed and nursing care [2, 3]. This discomfort could be attributed to the physiological hormone variations following parturition and psychological modifications associated with conditioning to the new situation which maternity constitutes [2, 3]
The baby blues appeared among to be a risk factor associated with postpartum depression 3.94 (OR=3.94, p=0.0), and persisted as an independent predictive factor after multivariate analysis (OR=3.52, p=0.00) as shown in table 1
Summary
The risk of psychological impairment is increased by ten during the course of the puerperium and one woman out of ten will develop postpartum psychiatric disorders [1] During this period, the new mother has to accustom to the companionship of her baby and develop the sense of responsibility towards the newborn. A number of newly delivered women complain of psychological tension, environmental stress, mood and emotional instability few days into postpartum. These accompanied by behavioural disorders such as unexpected irritability, crying, indifference with regard to the baby, refusal to breastfeed and nursing care [2, 3]. The prevention and early management of the baby blues during the perinatal period may help to prevent the onset of postpartum depression
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