Childhood Illness A Look At Postpartum Depression

Maternal Mental illness: A look at Postpartum Depression, its new inclusion into DSM-5, and treatment issues Antonella Uribe John Jay College of Criminal Justice INTRODUCTION Sandra was a 26 year old mother of four children who had been married for eight years. She had given birth to her fourth child two months ago, with the help of a midwife. Due to her husband’s recent pay cut, and already difficult financial situation, Sandra did not receive any antenatal or postnatal care. About a month after birth she felt normal. However, she soon began to exhibit unusual behavior including losing interest in her daily activities, spending most of the day alone without speaking to anyone, and ceasing to care for her†¦show more content†¦This paper will focus on the challenges faced when diagnosing and treating PPD, as well as its new inclusion in the DSM-5. What is Postpartum depression? There have been many changes made to the criterion for PPD since its inclusion in the DSM-IV and DSM-5. Currently, in the DSM-5, PPD is classified under depressive disorders. It is listed as a specifier under â€Å"peripartum disorders,† stating that the onset of mood symptoms occur during pregnancy or in the 4 weeks following delivery. In the DSM-IV, it is classified under mood disorders. The DSM-IV included a â€Å"criteria for Postpartum onset specifier,† which define postpartum onset as an episode occurring within four weeks postpartum. While these two classifications are similar, the DSM-5 revision made a point to elaborate on the specifier by adding a note that stated mood episodes can have their onset either during pregnancy or postpartum. It then goes on to include the fact that 50% of â€Å"postpartum† major depressive episodes actually begin prior to delivery, which is why they are referred to as peripartum episodes (DSM-5, p.186). Peripartum episodes c an occur with or without psychotic features, which can explain a case of simple â€Å"baby blues† vs. infanticide, or thoughts or delusions of killing the