Psychological abuse by a partner of a pregnant woman increases the likelihood of postpartum depression in a young mother, regardless of the impact of physical and sexual violence, researchers from Brazil report in the Lancet journal.
Dr. Ana Bernarda Ludermir together with a team from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco examined women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Future mothers completed questionnaires regarding violence during pregnancy and after childbirth. Young Moms Test for Depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.
A total of 1133 women participated in the project, and 1045 provided complete data. In 26 percent ladies have been diagnosed with postpartum depression. Among the respondents who experienced violence from their partner, the largest number of women (28%) reported a problem with psychological violence. As shown by the analyzes of participants who often experienced psychological violence, they were twice as likely to suffer from postpartum depression than women who did not encounter any symptoms of violence at all. About 10 percent all cases of postpartum depression involved women who had been psychologically abusive by their partners.
As emphasized by the authors of the research, doctors caring for pregnant women should pay more attention to cases of psychological violence against their patients. (PAP)