Pregnancy and postpartum depression (PPD): A non-systematic review assessing the current state of knowledge on PPD

• Autor(a) principal: Alves, Cristina
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Soares, Luísa, Faria, Ana Lúcia
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.31211/rpics.2023.9.1.293
• topic: Depressão Pós-Parto; Gravidez; Prevenção; Revisão Não Sistemática; Postpartum Depression; Pregnancy; Prevention; Non-Systematic Review

Objective: Pregnancy and motherhood, while rewarding, can be challenging and transformative. The gestational and postpartum periods may cause various changes, making women susceptible to mental disorders like Postpartum Depression (PPD). This review aimed to present the current state of knowledge on pregnancy and PPD, with a focus on PPD prevention in pregnant women aged 20-40, as well as PPD prevalence worldwide and in Portugal. Methods: A non-systematic search of the literature was conducted using four databases: B-on, Scielo, RCAAP, and Google Scholar. One hundred articles published from 2002-2022 were selected for analysis. Results: Articles were classified into nine topics: Cognitive-Behavioral Theory Approach; Risk and Protection Factors; Diagnosis; Breastfeeding; Multidisciplinary Teams; Demystification of Pregnancy; PPD's Impact on Mother-Infant Relationship; Covid-19 Influence; and Environmental Sustainability. The analysis revealed that prevention research is limited, with existing studies focusing on intervention and treatment and emphasizing nursing health professionals. Conclusions: The current literature overlooks the potential benefits of multidisciplinary teams for better prevention and support for at-risk pregnant women. More research is needed to improve PPD prevention strategies. Methods: A systematic search of the existing literature was performed using four digital databases: B-on, Scielo, RCAAP and Google Scholar. Results: One hundred articles published from 2002 to 2022 were selected for analysis. Conclusions: It was possible to verify that prevention is scarce. Existent studies focus more on the intervention and treatment of the pathology, giving more attention to nursing health professionals rather than multidisciplinary teams, which could contribute to better prevention of the condition and act appropriately for non-worsening of symptomatology in pregnant women at risk.