Postnatal depression can last for as long as three years, says study

POSTNATAL depression can affect women up to three years after giving birth, research suggests, prompting a call for the screening time for symptoms to be extended.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found one in four mothers experience “high levels” of depression within three years.

The study’s author, Dr Diane Putnick, of the National Institute of Health in the United States, said it suggests screening women for just six months after birth – as recommended in the US – may not be long enough to pick up the condition.

“These long-term data are key to improving our understanding of mom’s mental health, which we know is critical to her child’s well-being,” she said.

In the UK, women can access help for postnatal depression through midwives and health visitors in the first few days after giving birth. They should then be called for a formal check-up with a doctor six to eight weeks later.

Between 10 and 15 per cent of the 650,000 women who give birth in the UK every year become depressed, says the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

The latest research followed 5,000

women in New York state, who had given birth between 2008 and 2010, over a period of three years.

The women provided assessments of depressive symptoms at 4, 12, 24, and 36 months post-partum. The researchers also assessed risk factors such as age, education and previous disorders.

A quarter of women surveyed reported “high levels” of depression at some point in the three years after giving birth, the researchers found.

Dr Putnick said: “Extending screening for post-partum depressive sympt oms f or at l east t wo years after childbirth may be beneficial.”

According to the NHS, the three main treatments available for those women who are experiencing postnatal depression are self-help strategies, therapy and medication.

A recent study by the BMJ estimated around 350,000 new mothers may be missing out on their formal postnatal check-ups within 10 weeks of giving birth. The researchers suggested this could be because the women “do not want or feel they need” advice from GPS, or “invitations from the GP are not taken up either because women do not respond to them, or may find it difficult to access appointments”.

“Alternatively, a lack of recording in electronic health records may explain the apparently low rate,” they suggested.