Can we accurately predict who will experience postpartum depression?
Although no woman can consider herself immune from this disorder; some do appear to run a significantly higher risk than others. By looking at both biological and psychosocial determinants, experts do agree that some women are more susceptible to this emotional disorder than others. They include: 1. Women with a previous episode of PPD. There is a 66% recurrence rate for women who have not sought treatment. If a woman experienced postpartum psychosis (1-3 in a thousand) after a delivery, the chance of that recurrence jumps to 33%. 2. Women with a family history of PPD (i.e. mother, grandmother or sister) are at risk. Also, women who grew up in a dysfunctional family and have not worked through their own childhood issues are at risk of PPD when they go on to have their own children. 3. The perfectionist woman with unrealistic expectations is at risk. Ditto the “co dependent” who only wants to please others. These personality “types” are hesitant to discuss their negative feelings (which
