History of Physical & Sexual Abuse Increases Risk of PPD

Some preliminary research presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine meeting found that female victims of domestic violence have a 40% increased risk of developing postpartum depression, a cross-sectional study showed.

Those who suffered intimate partner violence in the form of physical or sexual abuse or stalking as an adult were significantly more likely to develop postpartum depression than women who did not experience any abuse. Women who said they were physically or sexually abused as a child also had a higher risk of postpartum depression, according to Matt Garabedian, MD, MPH, a maternal-fetal medicine fellow at the University of Kentuckyin Lexington.