American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience

| Peer-Reviewed |

Relationship Between the Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression: A Study Among Cameroonian Women

Received: 09 February 2020    Accepted: 25 February 2020    Published: 24 March 2020
Views:       Downloads:

Share This Article

Abstract

Background: The baby blues and postpartum depression are two of the three major entities of psychic disorders related to the puerperium. There exists a chronological distinction of these conditions which equally vary according to severity and prognosis. Objectives: This study aimed at investigating a possible relationship between the baby blues and postpartum depression in newly delivered Cameroonian women. Method: A retrospective study with case-control design was carried out at the Yaoundé Gyneco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital (YGOPH) over a period of 6 months on a sample of 214 newly delivered women. The group of cases consisted of women diagnosed with postpartum depression, while the group of controls consisted of women without postpartum depression. Subjects that were earlier checked for baby blues using the Kennerley and Gath blues questionnaire during the 1st week following delivery, were reassessed between the 4th and 6th weeks to diagnose postpartum depression. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to separate various groups and a retrospective cross checking was made. Results: We recruited 214 newly delivered women, among which 50 (23.36%) manifested postpartum depression while 164 (76.63%) women did not. Up to 31 (62%) of women with postpartum depression had earlier manifested the baby blues. After multivariate analysis of risk factors, the baby blues appeared as one of the independent predictive factors for postpartum depression (OR=3.52, p=0.00). Conclusion: The baby blues was not only a risk factor, but also an independent predictive factor for the manifestation of postpartum depression in this survey. Therefore, the prevention and early management of the baby blues during the perinatal period may help to prevent the onset of postpartum depression.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajpn.20200801.16
Published in American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Volume 8, Issue 1, March 2020)
Page(s) 22-25
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Baby Blues, Maternity Blues, Postpartum Depression, Cameroon

References
[1] Oates M. Major mental illness in pregnancy and puerperium. Baillières Clin Obstet Gynaecol 1987; 3 (4): 905-920.
[2] Rezaie-Keikhaie K, Arbabshastan ME, Rafiemanesh H, Amirshahi M, Mogharabi S, Sarjou AA. Prevalence of the Maternity Blues in the Postpartum Period. J Obstet Gynecol Neoatal Nurs. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2020.01.001.
[3] Virginie IM, Michel riex. Baby blues. Eres spirale. 2019; 89: 131-135.
[4] Kennerley H, Gath D. Maternity blues. Br J Psychiatry. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1994; 155: 367-73.
[5] O’Hara MW, Schlechte JA, Lewis DA, Varner MW. Controlled prospective study of post-partum mood disorders: Psychological, environmental and hormonal variables. J Abnorm Psychol 1991; 100 (1): 63-73.
[6] Lemperière T, Rouillon F, Lépine JP. Troubles psychiques liés à la puerpéralité. Encyclopédie medico-chirurgicale Psychiatrie, 1984. p. 7.
[7] Lundy B, Field T, Cigales M et al. Vocal and focal expression matching in infants of mothers with depressive symptoms. Infant Ment Health J 1997; 18 (1): 265-73.
[8] Murray L and cooper P J. Effects of postnatal depression on infant development. Child Dev 1996; 67 (5): 2512-26.
[9] Sharp D, Hay D F, Pawlby S, Smucker G, Allen H and Kumar R. The impact of postnatal depression on boys’ intellectual development. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 1995; 36 (8): 1315-36.
[10] Cox JL, Holden JM, Sagovski R. Detection of postnatal depression: development of the 10-item Edinburgh postnatal depression scale with two other depression instruments. Nurse Res 2001; 50 (4): 242-50.
[11] Bedford A and Foulds G. Delusion symptoms states. Anxiety and depression. Windsor: National Foundation for International research 1978.60. p.
[12] Edhborg. Comparison of different instruments to measure blues to predict depressive symptoms. 2 months postpartum: A study of new mothers and fathers. Scand J Caring Sci 2008; 22 (2): 186-195.
[13] Reck C et al. Maternity blues as predictor DSM-IV depression and anxiety disorders in the first three months of postpartum. J Affect Disord 2009; 113 (1-2): 77-87.
[14] Watanabe M. et al. Maternity blues as a predictor of postpartum depression: a prospective cohort study among Japanese women. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol 2008; 29 (3): 206-12.
[15] Zanardo V, Volpe F, de Luca F, Giliberti L, Giustardi A, Parotto M et al. Maternity blues: A risk factor for anhedonia, anxiety, and depression components of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. J Matern-Fetal Neonatal Med. 2019; 25: 1–7.
[16] Fiala A, Svancara J, Klanova J, Kasparek T. Sociodemographic and delivery risk factors for developing postpartum depression in a sample of 3233 mothers from the Czech ELSPAC study. BMC Psychiatry. 2017; 17 (1): 104.
[17] Nott P N and Cutt S. Validation of the 30-item GHQ in postpartum women. Psychol Med 1982; 12 (2): 404.
[18] Stein G S, and Van den Akker O B A. The retrospective diagnosis of postnatal depression by questionnaire. J Psychosom Res 1992; 36 (1): 67-75.
Author Information
  • Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon

  • Department of Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Georges Pius Kamsu Moyo, Nadège Djoda. (2020). Relationship Between the Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression: A Study Among Cameroonian Women. American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 8(1), 22-25. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20200801.16

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Georges Pius Kamsu Moyo; Nadège Djoda. Relationship Between the Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression: A Study Among Cameroonian Women. Am. J. Psychiatry Neurosci. 2020, 8(1), 22-25. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20200801.16

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Georges Pius Kamsu Moyo, Nadège Djoda. Relationship Between the Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression: A Study Among Cameroonian Women. Am J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2020;8(1):22-25. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20200801.16

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajpn.20200801.16,
      author = {Georges Pius Kamsu Moyo and Nadège Djoda},
      title = {Relationship Between the Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression: A Study Among Cameroonian Women},
      journal = {American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience},
      volume = {8},
      number = {1},
      pages = {22-25},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajpn.20200801.16},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20200801.16},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpn.20200801.16},
      abstract = {Background: The baby blues and postpartum depression are two of the three major entities of psychic disorders related to the puerperium. There exists a chronological distinction of these conditions which equally vary according to severity and prognosis. Objectives: This study aimed at investigating a possible relationship between the baby blues and postpartum depression in newly delivered Cameroonian women. Method: A retrospective study with case-control design was carried out at the Yaoundé Gyneco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital (YGOPH) over a period of 6 months on a sample of 214 newly delivered women. The group of cases consisted of women diagnosed with postpartum depression, while the group of controls consisted of women without postpartum depression. Subjects that were earlier checked for baby blues using the Kennerley and Gath blues questionnaire during the 1st week following delivery, were reassessed between the 4th and 6th weeks to diagnose postpartum depression. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to separate various groups and a retrospective cross checking was made. Results: We recruited 214 newly delivered women, among which 50 (23.36%) manifested postpartum depression while 164 (76.63%) women did not. Up to 31 (62%) of women with postpartum depression had earlier manifested the baby blues. After multivariate analysis of risk factors, the baby blues appeared as one of the independent predictive factors for postpartum depression (OR=3.52, p=0.00). Conclusion: The baby blues was not only a risk factor, but also an independent predictive factor for the manifestation of postpartum depression in this survey. Therefore, the prevention and early management of the baby blues during the perinatal period may help to prevent the onset of postpartum depression.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Relationship Between the Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression: A Study Among Cameroonian Women
    AU  - Georges Pius Kamsu Moyo
    AU  - Nadège Djoda
    Y1  - 2020/03/24
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20200801.16
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajpn.20200801.16
    T2  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    JF  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    JO  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    SP  - 22
    EP  - 25
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-426X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20200801.16
    AB  - Background: The baby blues and postpartum depression are two of the three major entities of psychic disorders related to the puerperium. There exists a chronological distinction of these conditions which equally vary according to severity and prognosis. Objectives: This study aimed at investigating a possible relationship between the baby blues and postpartum depression in newly delivered Cameroonian women. Method: A retrospective study with case-control design was carried out at the Yaoundé Gyneco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital (YGOPH) over a period of 6 months on a sample of 214 newly delivered women. The group of cases consisted of women diagnosed with postpartum depression, while the group of controls consisted of women without postpartum depression. Subjects that were earlier checked for baby blues using the Kennerley and Gath blues questionnaire during the 1st week following delivery, were reassessed between the 4th and 6th weeks to diagnose postpartum depression. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to separate various groups and a retrospective cross checking was made. Results: We recruited 214 newly delivered women, among which 50 (23.36%) manifested postpartum depression while 164 (76.63%) women did not. Up to 31 (62%) of women with postpartum depression had earlier manifested the baby blues. After multivariate analysis of risk factors, the baby blues appeared as one of the independent predictive factors for postpartum depression (OR=3.52, p=0.00). Conclusion: The baby blues was not only a risk factor, but also an independent predictive factor for the manifestation of postpartum depression in this survey. Therefore, the prevention and early management of the baby blues during the perinatal period may help to prevent the onset of postpartum depression.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

  • Sections