Research progress on non-pharmacological treatment of postpartum depression

Abstract

The incidence of postpartum depression （PPD） has been gradually increasing year by year. The main clinical manifestations of PPD include depression, self-denial, even suicide and infanticide tendencies, which has become a major public health issue. Different from other types of depression, treatment methods of PPD are relatively limited due to its special period and lactation needs. Pharmacotherapy, as the mainstream therapeutic option of major depression at present, has low compliance and poor efficacy because of its slow onset and possible impact of drugs entering the breast milk on infants. Nevertheless, non-pharmacological treatment exerts slight effect breast milk and it is likely to be accepted by lactation patients. In this article, recent research progresses on non-pharmacological treatment of PPD were reviewed, aiming to provide reference for better compliance and satisfactory efficacy.

Keywords

• |postpartum depression|non-pharmacological treatment|repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation|psychotherapy