Is postpartum depression linked to the weather?

Women who give birth in winter or spring less likely to have postpartum depression

Study finds higher gestational age is protective, and not having anesthesia increases risk

Source: American Society of Anesthesiologists

Women who give birth in winter or spring are less likely than women who deliver in the fall or summer to suffer from postpartum depression (PPD), suggests a study being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2017 annual meeting.

The study also found that women who delivered babies at a higher gestational age (further along in their pregnancy) were less likely to develop PPD, and women who did not have anesthesia, such as an epidural, during delivery had an increased risk. The authors said women who did not have anesthesia may have been at an increased risk for PPD because the pain associated with labor may have been traumatizing to the women during delivery, or it's possible those who declined anesthesia just happened to have intrinsic characteristics that made them more vulnerable to experiencing PPD.

Caucasian women had a lower risk of PPD compared to women of other races. Additionally, increased body mass index (BMI) was associated with an increased risk of PPD. There was no association found between delivery mode and PPD.

"We wanted to find out whether there are certain factors influencing the risk of developing postpartum depression that may be avoided to improve women's health both physically and mentally," said lead study author Jie Zhou, M.D., of Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. Read more...

Have you ever experienced postpartum depression? Did it have anything to do with the weather? What was it like?

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