A Psychobiological Review of Depression During Pregnancy

Abstract

This paper argues that depression may be viewed as one of several normal affective developments of pregnancy rooted in some of the physiological events of gestation and that identification of depression during pregnancy may be difficult (but nonetheless important) because the symptoms of pregnancy and depression are confounded. Studies are reviewed that suggest variations in the incidence and course of depression during pregnancy, some biological bases for such depression when it occurs, some systems through which it might operate, and the possible need for biological and psychological interventions.