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   Postpartum Depression Can Start As Soon As You're Pregnant   
      
   Carolyn Gregoire     
      
   The Huffington Post Posted: 01/29/15 08:16 AM ET Updated: 01/30/15 03:00 AM ET   
      
   Having a new baby is supposed to be a joyful experience -- but for many women,   
   it comes with some significant mental health challenges.   
      
   While up to 70 percent of women report some experience of "baby blues" after   
   giving birth, full-blown postpartum depression affects roughly 16 percent of   
   new mothers.   
      
   But not all women experience postpartum depression the same way: In a recent   
   study, researchers from the University of North Carolina identified three   
   distinct subtypes of the disorder.   
      
   According to the study, some women experience the onset of depressive symptoms   
   during pregnancy, which can result in a greater risk of developing the most   
   severe type of postpartum depression after birth.   
      
   Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody of UNC's Perinatal Psychiatry Program said that   
   it's important that doctors be aware of the various ways that postpartum   
   depression presents itself.   
      
   "A thorough assessment of a women's history is necessary to guide appropriate   
   clinical and treatment decisions," Meltzer-Brody said in a statement. "We now   
   understand that postpartum depression can have onset of symptoms that may   
   begin in pregnancy.    
   Improved understanding of the differences in clinical presentation of   
   postpartum depression impacts the implementation and interpretation of   
   screening, diagnosis, treatment, and research of perinatal mood disorders."   
      
   The study analyzed data from more than 10,000 women collected during previous   
   studies, using a common technique in psychiatry called latent class analysis.   
   This statistical method is employed to create subgroups within a class, in   
   this case, women with    
   postpartum depression.   
      
   The researchers divided up women who suffered from postpartum depression into   
   class 1, class 2 and class 3, looking specifically at severity of symptoms,   
   timing of onset, suicidal ideation and anxiety. Class 1 had the least severe   
   symptoms, followed by    
   class 2 and so on. The third tier was heavily associated with onset of   
   symptoms during pregnancy (rather than during the month following childbirth),   
   as well as anxiety, poor mood, obstetric complications and suicidal ideation.   
      
   In addition to clinicians being knowledgeable about the various ways that   
   postpartum depression presents itself, it's also important for expecting moths   
   to be aware of the risk factors for developing this condition. It's long been   
   known that women who    
   have suffered from depression are at a higher risk for developing postpartum   
   depression, in addition to younger women and women who have had children   
   previously.   
      
   Recently, research has revealed other important and previously unknown risk   
   factors for postpartum depression. Northwestern University research linked   
   controlling the pain of childbirth and post-delivery to a reduced risk of   
   developing postpartum    
   depression. The study showed that postpartum depression rates were doubled for   
   women who didn't have an epidural. A Finnish study also found that women   
   diagnosed with fear of childbirth are at a three times higher risk of   
   postpartum depression.   
      
   The research was present at a recent consortium event, Postpartum Depression:   
   Action Towards Causes and Treatment (PACT), and published in the journal The   
   Lancet Psychiatry.   
      
   http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6487822   
      
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