Cerebral changes are associated with a greater risk of postpartum depression

These structures are essential for emotional regulation and memory formation. However, it was not yet known whether the experiences of delivery and the development of this depression would have been associated with changes in these brain regions. And this is what the researchers have connected to different institutions in Spain studied in the recent study.

Scientists used magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate the brain regions of 88 pregnant women and did not have a history of mental health disorders. In particular, the variations in volume in the hippocampus and tonsils have particularly sought. They also responded to a questionnaire on their childbirth experience. In the control group, another 30, who have never had children, were monitored.

The researchers underline that the psychological state of the mother model the birth in a deeply subjective experience. While some women perceive their childbirth as a positive moment, trying joy, pride and realization, others describe it as traumatic. Therefore, a distressing and complicated conception can lead to post -traumatic stress symptoms or postpartum depression.

Those who experience bad situations have shown bilateral growth in the hippocampus. And the women who expressed symptoms of the disorder during the periprote (which includes the final period of pregnancy and the following months after childbirth) were with an increase in the right cerebral amygdala. According to the study, the greater the expansion of the volume of this area, the more intense the signs of the perinatal depression are; In addition, worse is the delivery experience, the greater the bilateral increase in the volume in the hippocampus.

“This discovery is very important”, The gynecologist and obstetrician says Romulo NegrinI, maternal-child medical coordinator of Israelite Hospital Albert Einstein. “The authors underline the correlation of the right tonsilla with postpartum depression because this is a condition that requires treatment. The problem of conception events is very individual and deserves psychological attention. But the disorder can be something more serious and permanent.”

A common problem

According to the Spanish survey, between 7% and 44% of mothers describe their childbirth as a traumatic, 10% develop a post -traumatic stress disorder related to the birth of the child and 17% suffer from postpartum depression. Node Brazilaccording to the estimates of Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz)The picture affects about 25% of mothers.

Shortly after childbirth, about 80% of women will experience Baby Blues – a series of feelings that are often confused with the disease: constant crying, sadness, anguish, excessive sensitivity, irritability and anxiety are some of the symptoms. But they are transient, they last two or three weeks and usually regress spontaneously. Postpartum depression, on the contrary, does not disappear and can bring other complications and consequences, including the emotional aspect, interrupting the link between mother and child.

The results of the survey do not yet bring an effective change in clinical practice. This is because you cannot make magnetic resonance imaging in all pregnant women. However, the results strengthen the importance of monitoring the perinatal and mental health of pregnant women during prenatal treatment.

“If there is a high risk of illness, I can take the exam immediately after childbirth and detect these brain changes before it appears, for example,” proposes Negrini. “From this, I can take on preventive attitudes, such as doing psychotherapy, organizing lifestyle and maintaining a support network so that this woman does not develop depression”.