Postpartum anxiety: More common than you think

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Behavioral Health

Postpartum anxiety: More common than you think

J Fam Pract. 2019 April;68(3):165-168,170,174

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References

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A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 9 women experience symptoms of postpartum depression.⁵ The prevalence of anxiety disorders during pregnancy and the early postpartum period is not as well-known, but studies suggest that perinatal anxiety is much more prevalent than depression. In one study, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in the pre- and postnatal periods was 15.8% and 17.1%, respectively; an incidence far exceeding that of perinatal depression (3.9% and 4.8%, for the same periods).⁶ Additional evidence suggests that even more women in the postnatal period experience clinically significant levels of anxiety but do not meet full diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder.⁷

Consider screening for postpartum anxiety with the GAD-7 or the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (questions 3-5).

In another study, 9.5% of women met criteria for GAD at some point during pregnancy, with highest anxiety levels in the first trimester.⁸ Women with a history of GAD, lower education, lack of social support, and personal history of child abuse have the highest risk for postpartum anxiety. Women with a history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be twice as likely to develop postpartum anxiety as healthy women.⁹

It has been well-documented that sleep disruption—which is very common in new mothers in the postnatal period—contributes to mood and anxiety disorders.^10,11

Clarifying a diagnosis of postpartum anxiety

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5)¹² specifies no diagnosis of postpartum anxiety disorder. And no standardized diagnostic criteria exist. It is likely that in some cases, postpartum anxiety represents an exacerbation of underlying GAD, and in other cases it is a situational disorder brought about by specific circumstances of the peripartum period.

The DSM-5 does, however, provide a helpful diagnostic approach. It defines a diagnosis of postpartum depression as being a variant of major depressive disorder (MDD) in which a woman must 1) meet criteria for a major depressive episode; and 2) occur during pregnancy or within 4 weeks of delivery. In practice, many clinicians extend the second requirement to include the first year postpartum.¹³ There is a “with anxious distress” specifier for major depression in the DSM-5, but the 2 disorders are otherwise unlinked.

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