Perinatal depression: a study of prevalence and of risk and protective factors

International literature has shown that Postpartum Depression (PPD) has a significant social and relational impact on mothers and their partners, on the interaction between mother and child, as well as on the cognitive and emotional development of the child. The goal of this study is to increase the epidemiological knowledge of PPD and to evaluate both risk and protective factors.

Our study is based on the administration of three tests, Paykel's Life Events Scale, EPDS and MMPI-2, at three distinct time point (during the third trimester, 72 hours after delivery, and three months after delivery, respectively) to a sample of women recruited in the Prenatal Medicine Clinic at the Hospital of Perugia. The data collected was statistically analyzed.

The prevalence of PPD 72 hours after delivery was 11%, while the prevalence of PPD three months after delivery was 16.7%. Antepartum Depression (APD), measured using EPDS cut-offs scores of 9 and 14, was found to be a statistically significant risk factor for the development of PPD, while desired life-events during pregnancy can represent a protective factor.

The prevalence of PPD that we measured, in agreement with that found in the literature, demonstrates that despite the fact that the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-IV refer to PPD only if it develops within 4 weeks after delivery, PPD can also develop after this period. Furthermore, it appears that monitoring APD and encouraging a psycho-socially serene pregnancy are important for prevention of PPD. In the case of APD it was shown that monitoring women with even light depressive symptoms is important, because these women are more likely to then develop PPD.