News Flash: New NIH Study Shows Postpartum Depression Can Last 3 Years

NEWS FLASH!

NIH STUDY: POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION CAN LAST 3 YEARS

A new study by the National Institutes of Health shows that post-partum depression can last several years after the birth of a baby.

Here's a quick summary:

The study was conducted by researchers at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
The study followed 5,000 mothers from across New York state.
Women were screened at four intervals: 4, 12, 24, and 36 months postpartum.
25% of women experienced high levels of depressive symptoms at some point in the three years after giving birth.
The rest of the women experienced low levels of depression throughout the three-year span.

Learn more:

Read today's PRESS RELEASE from the National Institutes of Health.
Read the FULL STUDY, led by NICHD's Diane Putnick PhD.
Listen to his morning's STORY by Rhitu Chatterjee on National Public Radio.

Today's MMHLA Heroes

Diane Putnick, PhD

is an epidemiologist at the the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development where she studies perinatal factors that promote child development and well-being. For this study, Dr. Putnick led a team of researchers from NICHD, University of Albany, New York University, and Johns Hopkins University.

Rhitu Chatterjee

is a health correspondent with National Public Radio where she focuses on mental health. She has written several important stories about maternal mental health, including how the chronic stress of racism effects pregnancy outcomes in Black women and how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting mental health.

Working with Policy Makers to Address Maternal Mental Health Challenges

dedicated to promoting the mental health of childbearing women in the United States

by advocating for universal education, screening, referral, and treatment

of postpartum depression and related maternal mental health (MMH) conditions.

Our vision is that all childbearing women in the United States will be educated about and screened for maternal mental health conditions and have access to resources for recovery.