Increase in postnatal depression since COVID-19

The pandemic would have an immediate impact on the increase in cases of postnatal depression, a situation that worries many health professionals.

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“At the level of access to care [en santé mentale périnatale] at the moment we are really overwhelmed”, deplores the D^re Tuong Vi Nguyen, psychiatrist specializing in perinatal health at the McGill University Health Centre.

According to a study by Canadian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecologythe number of cases of postpartum depression has increased from 12% to 40.7% since the start of the pandemic, and this does not include cases of anxiety which have increased from 15% to 72% in the country.

The article published earlier this month tried to establish what the effects of the pandemic were on the health of women during their pregnancy and in the postpartum period.

“In my practice, I haven’t seen a 70% increase, but we have seen more mothers experiencing postnatal psychological distress, who found it excessively difficult. For cases of anxiety, this increase surprises me a little less since almost all of us experience anxiety at certain times, ”explains the D^re Lucie Morin, head of the obstetrics department at CHU Saint-Justine.

High factors

Approximately 15% of women will experience depression as a result of pregnancy.

Several factors can explain this drastic increase, in particular in connection with the isolation which forced some mothers to take care of their child without outside help, at the height of health restrictions, but also the increase in anxiety related to the virus and social pressure that is still very present, particularly in connection with social networks.

“What we see here, in our studies, is that the data collected showed that we went from 1 in 5 women before the pandemic and that now the number is more like 1 in 3 women. [ce qui équivaut à une hausse de près de 14%]“, explains the D^re Tuong Vi Nguyen in connection with research done by the McGill University Health Center for the Montreal area.

Symptoms

Several symptoms can occur in the event of psychological distress, postnatal depression does not only result in tears and sadness, which many new parents do not always know.

Some affected mothers will experience great fatigue, while for others the symptoms will be irritability, anxiety or even anger.

These negative feelings can appear from a few months to several years after childbirth.

At Saint-Justine Hospital, a project to systematically screen for mental health issues has been in place for six years, but the capacity of the health system is limited.

“If I see the patient who has anxiety disorders, mood issues. Who will I refer her to, which health care worker, which psychologist, which psychiatrist? There are so few resources that people hide in the sand and hope it goes away on its own, ”laments the D^re Morin from CHU Saint-Justine.

Note that although more mothers are affected, some fathers may also be victims of postnatal depression.