Postpartum disorder
A disorder presenting primarily in the days and weeks after childbirth.
A postpartum disorder is a disease or condition that presents primarily during the days and weeks after childbirth, known as the postpartum period. This period is divided into three stages: the acute phase (6–12 hours after childbirth), the subacute phase (lasting two to six weeks), and the delayed phase (up to six months). The World Health Organization describes the postpartum period as the most critical yet most neglected phase in mothers' and babies' lives, as most maternal and newborn deaths occur during this time.
Quick Facts
- Subacute phase health problems
- 87% to 94% of women report at least one health problem
- Long-term health problems
- 31% of women report problems persisting after the delayed postpartum period
- Postpartum depression prevalence
- 4–20% of pregnancies
- Postpartum thyroiditis prevalence
- about 5% of all women within a year after giving birth
- Perineal tearing occurrence
- 85% of vaginal deliveries
Facts from the source article.
Physical disorders
Diastasis recti is a gap between the two sides of the rectus abdominis muscle that can occur before and after birth; it has no associated morbidity or mortality and is treated with physiotherapy. Urinary incontinence affects 3–7% of women at six months postpartum, and fecal incontinence affects 1–3%, with both linked to all methods of childbirth. Postpartum infections, also called childbed fever or puerperal fever, are bacterial infections of the female reproductive tract after childbirth or miscarriage, typically presenting with fever above 38.0 °C, chills, lower abdominal pain, and possibly foul-smelling vaginal discharge within the first ten days after delivery. Puerperal mastitis is breast inflammation usually associated with breastfeeding, marked by local pain, redness, fever, and general soreness, often arising within the first few months and potentially leading to abscess formation. Obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal resulting from prolonged obstructed labour, preventable with timely cesarean section, and can cause urinary or fecal incontinence. Perineal tearing occurs in 85% of vaginal deliveries, with 21% of women still reporting perineal pain at six months and 11–49% reporting sexual problems or painful intercourse. Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a decrease in heart function in the last month of pregnancy or up to six months post-pregnancy, raising risks of congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, thromboembolism, and cardiac arrest. Postpartum thyroiditis affects about 5% of women within a year after giving birth and may involve hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, or both sequentially.
Psychological disorders
Postpartum depression is a moderate to severe depressive episode starting during pregnancy or within four weeks after delivery, occurring in 4–20% of pregnancies. Without treatment, it can last months or years, interfering with the mother's ability to connect with and care for her baby and potentially causing the child problems with sleeping, eating, and behavior. In 38% of cases, women remain depressed three years postpartum, and in 0.2% of pregnancies, it leads to psychosis. Research indicates that the location and method of postpartum care delivery—whether at home, by telephone, or in a clinical setting—do not significantly impact depression or anxiety symptoms, and integrated care models have not reduced postpartum depression rates in the first year. Postpartum psychosis is a mental and behavioral disorder with psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, typically occurring within the six-week postpartum period, often accompanied by mood symptoms of depression or mania. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder are common after childbirth, with prevalence of 24–30.1% at six weeks dropping to 13.6% at six months; PTSD itself, excluding stillbirth and some complications, ranges from 2.8–5.6% after six weeks and falls to 1.5% at six months.
More in Pathology of Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium
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