Postpartum depression and predominant affections in gestation, partum and Postpartum

Abstract

This study aims to compare the affections of the mother in the groups with and without depression. This is a qualitative, exploratory research, with the outline of four case studies. The survey was conducted at the participants' residence and the sample consists with four women from state of Saõ Paulo, Brazil, two of which have a postpartum depression and two that have not. Thus, three instruments are applied: Semi Structured Interview, Sociodemographic Questionnaire and Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale-EPDS, applied in the residence of the participants. The results were presented from the content analysis and discussed according to the literature, revealing that this is a period of ambivalent feelings about herself, gestation, social relations and the future. Regardless of the existence or not of the diagnosis of depression, there was the need to confront individual and social conflicts in all participants throughout the puerperal pregnancy cycle. During the gestational period, all the participants went through the prenatal process, however, the teams focused exclusively on the physiological changes, neglecting the social and psychological, cultural aspects. It is suggested interventions aimed at promoting the integral health of women during the puerperal pregnancy cycle.