Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression is defined as a significant nonobstetric condition related to childbirth. It is becoming widespread and can be very damaging for the mother herself and the child, too, as it hinders the woman's personal development and the child's proper psychological and physiological development (Bradshaw et al., 2022). Research has revealed that mothers who are 35 years and above are more likely to develop postpartum depression than postpartum women below the mentioned age. Therefore, this essay conducts a literature review on the prevalence and severity of postpartum depression and discusses the findings from this literature to prove that maternal age has a significant bearing on this condition.

Literature Review

A number of past literature studies have been conducted examining the connection between postpartum depression and maternal age. A multinational study was conducted by Bradshaw et al. (2022) to investigate the risk factors associated with postpartum depressive symptoms (Bradshaw et al., 2022). The survey study was conducted in the Flo app, where women using the app were asked to answer the survey questions based on the features provided in the app, like charting mood, attitudes, and physical symptoms, as well as answers based on their menstrual cycle, pregnancy, menopause, and fertility windows.

A multinational study was conducted from January 2018 to April 2020 with the users of the Flo app in all 150 countries, which is estimated to have users of the app across the globe (Bradshaw et al., 2022). The survey question that guided the research investigating the association between PPD and risk factors was asking about the emotional state. Over a million women were reported to participate in the study in 138 countries around the globe (Bradshaw et al., 2022). The results from the analysis were that the prevalence of the participants with PPD was estimated at 11%. The findings stated the rate of PPD decreased with age, except for women aged 40 and above. For example, women reported PDS at the age of 18-24 was 10%, while at 35-39 years old, it was 6.5%, but from 40 and older, it increased again to 6.9% (Bradshaw et al., 2022). Overall, the findings demonstrated that at least 10% of women experience depressive symptoms throughout the postpartum phase.

Silverman et al. (2018) also examined the risk factors for PPD. The population-based study involved prospective cohort research that was conducted nationwide across Sweden from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2008. A total of 707,701 women who gave birth to a living singleton were included in the study, and the results involving this number showed that women developed PPD in the first month after delivery, since all the diagnosed cases for the first month hit 33% of the population. The results also showed that the risks of PPD increased with age, with the women older than 35 years, as compared to those from 25 to 29 years, as a statistically significant difference between the ratios of 1.13 and 1.37 was observed. It was then determined that all the interactions that were established, such as the relationship between maternal age and depression, were significant at p<0.05, and the gestational age was also significant at p<0.001.

The study by Shen et al. (2023) investigated the relationship between Chinese women's risks of PPD and advanced maternal age. The report examined the relationship between depression and lactational mastitis using a cross-sectional analysis among 1551 women in Shanghai, China (Shen et al., 2023). Though the article was associated with lactational mastitis, it was significant in showcasing the connection between postpartum depression and maternal age. Lactational mastitis was one of the risk factors for the growth of PPD. As a result, the study showed that the proportion of women with significantly higher depressive symptoms was higher. The study also examined the risks of suicidal ideation among those women and found it was significantly high, as it increased by 89% (Shen et al., 2023). More importantly, the article enhanced significant findings that women aged 35 years and above had a higher association of lactational mastitis, hence with increased postpartum depression (Shen et al., 2023). This study concludes that some risk factors that make women of advanced age vulnerable to lactational mastitis increase PD risk factors.

Discussion

The prevalence of postpartum depression tells it all about the severity and pervasiveness of this debilitating condition that usually occurs within 4 to 6 weeks after childbirth. The symptoms of the conditions are similar to major depressive disorder since they include depressed mood, sleep disturbance, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, loss of energy, loss of appetite, irritability, diminished concentration, and feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and in severe cases result in suicidal ideations (Silverman et al., 2017). The studies identify PPD as one of the most common and serious problems affecting women in the postpartum period. The study conducted involving the past literature investigated the association between the two variables: maternal age and postpartum depression. Therefore, many of the studies involved identifying the factors related to postpartum depression (Bradshaw et al., 2022). As such, the study evaluated the association of factors like maternal age, gestational age, parity, and newborn gender with self-reported depressive symptoms. After reviewing the studies, the prevalence of postpartum disease among women was at an alarming rate, with many of the women at birth and around six weeks of delivery reporting increased risks of depression. Additionally, almost all of the studies identified that maternal age was a prevalent risk factor that increased women's risk of postpartum depression. More importantly, the articles enhance significant findings that proved the research hypothesis that post-natal mothers who are 35 years of age or older are more inclined to suffer from PPD than younger postpartum women.

The results from the past literature clarify the connection between postpartum depression and maternal age. Many of the study's findings proved the fact that many of the women who gave live birth from the age of 35 had higher risks of PPD. The study findings indicated that mothers who are 35 years of age or older are more inclined to have PPD than younger women because of a number of factors. First, the study by Silverman et al. (2018) identifies that adolescents who are having their first pregnancy are faced with additional challenges that would result in depression after birth (Silverman et al., 2017). However, because of the younger women's youth and the nature of depression, they are more inclined to have PPD than their mature counterparts. According to the study, PPD rose with age among women over 35 as opposed to those between 25 and 29 years old (Silverman et al., 2017). This is because there was a statistical difference in the ratio from 1.13 to 1.37 (Silverman et al., 2017). This indicates that maternal age is a substantial risk factor for PPD in women and that this risk is higher for older women due to the challenges they have endured in life compared to younger women.

Other studies have shown that older women are more likely to have PPD than adolescents or young adults, while some show that adolescents have increased risks. However, the studies showing adolescents have higher risks of postpartum depression also identified that as women age above 40 years, there is an increase in the risks of postpartum depression. This is because the study by Bradshaw et al. (2022) shows that PPD decreases with age except for women aged 40 and above (Bradshaw et al., 2022). For example, women reported PDS at the age of 18-24 was 10%, while at 35-39 years old, it was 6.5%, but from 40 and older, it increased again to 6.9%. According to the study, at least 10% of women experience signs of depression during the lactating period, and as women age, the prevalence of depression rises.

Conclusion

The literature review study demonstrates that postpartum women who are 35 years of age or older are more inclined to experience postpartum depression than younger postpartum women. The literature research conducted identified that many of the sources have proven that postpartum depression is associated with maternal age and that women of advanced age are more likely to suffer PPD than their younger counterparts. Interestingly, the study enhanced to give a number of reasons why this population has higher elevated risks of PPD, including a history of psychiatric illnesses, obstetric and perinatal factors, ability to control depression, and biological nature. Therefore, these findings show that many factors play a central role in making women of advanced age prone to PPD, so future studies should keep these factors in mind.