Spit-up On My Shoulder

On May 26th, the Los Angeles Times ran an article about the increased risk of postpartum depression (PPD) for military wives. Their risk is almost three times that of other women.

There was one mistake that I noted in the article. You can find it below in an abridged version of the piece:

Women with spouses on military deployment during their pregnancies face a nearly threefold higher risk for postpartum depression in initial screening tests, researchers reported.

The findings mean that military wives should be informed of the risk and aggressively screened for depression during their postpartum medical exams, said lead author Dr. Jeffrey Millegan of the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.

Postpartum depression is believed to affect 10% to 15% of new mothers and can occur up to three months (Melanie’s note: Not true! PPD can occur anytime in the first year) after childbirth. Antidepressants or psychotherapy are effective treatments.

The study, presented May 21st at an American Psychiatric Assn. meeting in San Diego, looked at 415 women who received preliminary screening tests for the condition approximately six weeks after their children were born.

One-quarter of the 90 women whose husbands were deployed at any point during their pregnancy screened positive, according to the study, compared with 11% of the women whose husbands were not deployed.

Researchers found that women whose husbands were deployed during their pregnancies had 2.7 times the risk of screening positive.

To view the entire article, go here. Please hold these moms close in your heart and reach out to them when you can.