Postpartum & hormonal changes: What’s fact and what’s myth? 🧠
Feeling down after birth is common, but postpartum depression isn’t just “baby blues.” Around 13-20% of new parents experience postpartum depression, 10% face postpartum anxiety, and 1% experience postpartum psychosis (1,7). Knowing the signs is key.
What about hormonal birth control? Despite common concerns, research finds no consistent link between hormonal contraceptives and depression in adults – though some risks exist for adolescents.
Resources
Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative
Pacific Post Partum Support Society
Guide From Tiny Tot to Toddler from pregnancy to age two
- CAMH develops first ever clinically validated natural supplement to prevent postpartum blues | CAMH | April 2024
- Dietary supplement for mood symptoms in early postpartum: a double-blind randomized placebo controlled trial | eClinicalMedicine | May 2024
- Baby Blues | HealthLink BC
- Baby blues | Institut national de santé publique du Québec
- New parents and mental disorders: a population-based register study | JAMA | December 2006
- Time trends in incidence of postpartum depression and depression in women of reproductive age | Journal of Affective Disorders | December 2024
- Postpartum psychiatric disorders | Nature Reviews Disease Primers | April 2018
- Association of Hormonal Contraception With Depression | JAMA Psychiatry | November 2016
- Hormonal contraceptive use and depressive symptoms: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised trials. | BJPsych Open | June 2021
- There is no association between combined oral hormonal contraceptives and depression: a Swedish register-based cohort study. | BJOG | May 2022
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Let’s clear up some confusion about Postpartum, birth control and depression. Feeling down after birth is common, but is isn’t just "baby blues." Knowing the signs is key. See more here 👉https://scienceupfirst.com/womens-health/pregnancy-and-contraceptive-brain-changes/ #ScienceUpFirst
— ScienceUpFirst (@scienceupfirst.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 2:48 PM
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