For pregnant women, predictive medicine may provide guidance in identifying their risks of developing postpartum depression. Published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, a recent study tested the effectiveness of clinical interviews in pinpointing those at elevated risk of depression after birth.

While women with a history of depression are more susceptible to developing symptoms postpartum, evidence is scare predicting mothers who develop postpartum depression when they did not experience depression before birth. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, led by Rita Anshu Suri, MD, psychiatrist at UCLA, tested how clinical interviews could identify women more prone to developing postpartum depression.

The study, which spanned from April 2003 to March 2006, included 343 pregnant women between 12 and 36 weeks of gestation, who were not suffering from depression during pregnancy but had a previous history of major depressive disorder. Patients visited a psychiatrist both 60 days before and after giving birth. During these visits, psychiatrists asked patients about their daily lives including work, insomnia and suicidal ideation.

Results revealed that of the women not experiencing depression during pregnancy but had a history of major depressive disorder, only 11 percent developed postpartum depression. This rate was significantly lower than the 40 percent found in other studies. Question regarding work activities, insomnia and suicidal thoughts were effective in identifying women more prone to develop postpartum depression. Administering preventive antidepressants had no effect on whether women developed postpartum depression.