Study notes postpartum depression in new moms early in pandemic
More than a third of new mothers early in the COVID-19 pandemic had symptoms of postpartum (after-birth) depression—nearly triple pre-pandemic levels—and one in five had major depressive symptoms, with symptoms for both disorders higher in women who fed their babies formula, according to a study yesterday in BMC Research Notes.
Researchers from the University of Michigan (U-M) School of Nursing analyzed survey data from 670 postpartum women who completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and answered other questions from February through July 2020. The team also collected demographic data that included neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, infant gestational age, and baby feeding methods.
Of the participants, 38% (256 women) screened positive for postpartum depression (score ≥ 10 or admitted to thoughts of self-harm) and 21.8% (146) screened positive for major depressive symptoms (score ≥ 13 or had self-harm thoughts). In total, 51 respondents (7.6%) said they had thoughts of self-harm.
Respondents who fed their infants formula had 92% greater odds of screening positive for postpartum depression and were 73% more likely to screen positive for major depressive symptoms compared to those who breastfed or bottle-fed with their own human milk.
The researchers also found that moms of NICU babies had 74% greater odds of screening positive for postpartum depression, and moms worried about contracting COVID-19 had 71% greater odds.
Before COVID, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 1 in 8 women experienced postpartum depression, and about 5% to 7% experienced major depressive symptoms, first author Clayton Shuman, PhD, MSN, RN, U-M assistant professor of nursing, said in a U-M news release.
Of the self-harm findings, Shuman said, "This is very concerning given that prior to the pandemic, Dr. Lindsay Admon and colleagues from U-M found the rate of suicidality among prenatal and postpartum patients is on the rise in the U.S."
Mar 9 BMC Res Notes study
Mar 9 University of Michigan news release
H5N6 avian flu sickens woman in China, in critical condition
China reported another H5N6 avian flu case, involving a woman from Jiangxi province in the country's southeast, part of an uptick in infections that has been under way since last year.
The patient, age 51, is from the city of Nanchang, according to Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP). Her symptoms began on Feb 20, and she was hospitalized 3 days later. The woman's condition is critical. An investigation revealed that she had contact with domestic poultry before she got sick.
The latest case lifts China's number of H5N6 cases since 2014 to 74. So far this year, China has reported 10 cases. H5N6 is known to circulate in a handful of Asian countries, but only China and Laos have reported human cases, which are often severe or fatal.
Mar 15 CHP statement
