Clinical and therapeutic management in postpartum depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a mental disorder commonly encountered in mothers, but also in their partners in the first months after birth. Early recognition of the signs and symptoms of this disease by the medical staff in the department of obstetrics and gynecology or by the generalist practitioner and an appropriate treatment determines a favorable outcome of the mother and an optimal development for the newborn. We discuss the need for a prenatal screening, in order to detect women at risk of developing this condition and the need to monitor them in the first months after birth.