Peripartum and Postpartum Depression

During pregnancy, depression can occur prenatally (anytime from conception to birth), during peripartum (the last month of gestation to first few months of delivery), or postpartum (from delivery, up to a year after birth). Approximately 12% of women will develop depression during pregnancy, and 21% will develop depression following pregnancy (Wisner et al., 2013). It is important to differentiate between the baby blues, which is a normative increase in emotionality due to hormone fluctuations in the week following birth, and Postpartum Depression (PPD). PPD involves escalated depressive symptom severity and duration, and the onset can be up to a year after birth.