[Clinical and psychopathological postpartum depression: eleven Senegalese cases report]

The postpartum depression is a frequent puerperium psychiatric disorder. The authors study the clinical, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects of the postpartum depression among eleven Senegalese women.

They examined the medical reports and hospital registers of eleven patients belonging to a sample of 52 women presenting psychic disorders of the puerperality. The diagnosis was made by using the International Classification of the Diseases.

The symptoms of depression were irritability, bad concentration, multiple somatic complaints, of insomnia of drowsiness, loss of the usual interests. All the patients profited from psychotherapy and have received chemotherapy with antidepressant treatment associated tranquillizing in six cases. They improved from 29 to 43 days after their admission.

The pregnancy and the childbirth, the parity, personal history of the patient, their social environment and the cultural representations of maternity are factors of depression of the postpartum. The antidepressant is always essential in the treatment.