It is already known that women with a history of depression have a higher risk of going on to develop postnatal depression. However, a new study has found that women with a fear of childbirth also have an increased risk of becoming depressed after the birth of their child.

Postnatal or postpartum depression affects up to 15% of mothers. Symptoms can include worrying excessively about the baby, finding it hard to cope with even minor mishaps, feeling tense much of the time, feeling sad or crying a lot, feeling inadequate and a loss of interest in sex.

Finnish researchers decided to investigate factors that play a role in postnatal depression. They carried out a study involving over 511,000 mothers, who gave birth between 2002 and 2010.

They found that the risk of postnatal depression was highest after the birth of a first child. As expected, it was also more likely to be diagnosed in women with a history of depression.

However, the researchers found that around one-third of those diagnosed with postnatal depression had no history of depression. Among these women, the risk of postnatal depression was around three times higher if they had been diagnosed by a doctor with a fear of childbirth.

According to the researchers, this is a new observation, which may help healthcare workers to recognise more women at potential risk.

Meanwhile, other risk factors for postnatal depression included having a caesarean section and giving birth prematurely.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, BMJ Open.

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