At risk of postpartum depression

At least 10 per cent of women suffer from anxiety or depressive disorders following childbirth, with symptoms including sadness, restlessness and/or agitation and decreased concentration. tors may influence the risk of postpartum depression, although lead author Dr Jie Zhou did have some suggestions.

Delivering in winter or spring may have a protective effect against postpartum depression as women enjoy the time spent indoors with their newborns during these seasons. However, the team added that although outdoor activities are not always as convenient with young babies they also have health benefits, as they can help to increase sun exposure.

As babies with a higher gestational age will typically be more mature at delivery, this could also help decrease the risk.

“It is expected that the mother will do better and be less mentally stressed when delivering a mature, heathy baby,” explained Dr Zhou.

He also explained that not having anaesthesia may have been a factor as the pain that comes with giving birth may be a traumatic experience for some women.

However, it is also possible those who didn’t have anaesthesia are also by coincidence more susceptible to experiencingpostpartum depression.

Dr Zhou added: “The significant differ- ence in the risk of developing postpartum depression between Caucasian and other populations may be due to differences in socioeconomic status among these ethnicities.

“Women with increased BMI needed more hospital-based maternal outpatient follow-ups and had more pregnancy-related complications, which could affect maternal outlook.”

The findings were presented at the Anesthesiology 2017 annual meeting which took place in Boston last month.