Baby blues or post-natal depression will affect nearly one in five mothers. And if baby blues is a mild form of depression that occurs after childbirth, if it lasts from a few hours to a few days, postpartum depression -partum is much more severe and prolonged. Characterized by one or more major depressive episodes, within the meaning of the symptoms of depression (DSM), it occurs within 4 to 6 weeks, or even within a year following childbirth. The most common symptoms are difficulty falling asleep, hyperactivity, irritability, anxiety, fatigue and difficulty concentrating. Finally, severe postpartum depression can negatively impact the mother-child relationship.
.jpg)
The researchers show here, on a study group of 296 participants, that women who give birth to a boy run between 71 and 79% more risk of suffering from postnatal depression. In addition, women who face birth complications have a 174% increased risk of developing depression.
What explanation? Recent research indicates that depression is linked to prolonged inflammation. Factors triggering inflammation could therefore highlight new risk factors for depression. Among these risk factors for inflammation are the male gender of the fetus and birth complications. Thus, giving birth to male children would increase the risks of postnatal depression. CQFD?
Recognizing that risk factors are linked to the presence of a male newborn is not straightforward. But it is one factor – admittedly not very specific – that may prompt women's health professionals to seek to identify and support women who are more likely to develop the condition.
Another a priori surprising conclusion: women with symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress before birth are always more at risk of developing postpartum depression, but birth complications have little impact on the risk. In practice, these mothers generally receive more support after birth due to their pre-existing mental health problems. This finding also suggests that interventions aimed at supporting young mothers may help prevent the development of depression.
Postpartum depression is therefore preventable with appropriate support. Moreover, on a more physiological level, many known risk factors for depressive symptoms are associated with the activation of inflammatory pathways, it is also an opportunity to identify new risk factors according to their inflammatory effects. .
