Why do we care?
Relatively high prevalence of PND (>1 in 10)
Long duration of many episodes
Long-lasting negative effects on infant, mother & family
“Conspiracy of silence”
Affective disorders associated with childbearing have been described since the time of Hippocrates. More recently, in 1838, the French physician, Jean Etienne Dominique Esquirol1, documented cases of mental illness in childbearing women. He divided them into illnesses that arose during pregnancy, soon after childbearing, and weeks or even longer after delivery. Louis Victor Marc