A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association on the incidence of postpartum psychoses received heavy attention in the broadcast media, with stories totaling about six and a half minutes running on the three major network newscasts. ABC World News (12/5, story 6, 2:10, Gibson) reported, "A study released today, the largest of its kind ever done, confirms at least 15% of new moms suffer from postpartum depression, and lose the joys of what should be one of the most happiest times in life." ABC (McKenzie) added, "This study followed more than 630,000 first-time mothers, none of whom had any history of psychiatric problems. Researchers found the most dangerous time for a new mother was much earlier than imagined." McKenzie continued, "Doctors say new mothers are more prone to psychiatric illness, because they're...going through massive hormone changes."
      ABC World News (12/5, story 7, 1:40, Gibson) reported, "We know that a mother who gave birth is seven-times more likely to suffer depression than other women." ABC (Johnson) added, "I think this study argues for competent mandatory mental health screening on brand-new mothers. These problems are too often misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all. The mother doesn't want to complain. And when she does, the family and doctors don't take it seriously." Johnson continued, "There are medications for all of the conditions. And the sooner you give them, the shorter period of suffering for the mother and less interruption for the family."
      NBC Nightly News (12/5, story 9, 2:35, Williams) reported, "It's about postpartum depression. It's now been declared a major public health problem. A major new study out tonight shows it's much more common and can be much more serious than the experts ever really knew. But knowing about it beforehand, dealing with it quickly if it happens, are key to fixing this potentially devastating problem."
      The Chicago Tribune (12/6, Kotulak) reports, "The results underscore the potential for danger after childbirth." About 70 to 80 percent of new mothers experience postpartum letdown, and "10 to 15 percent suffer postpartum depression, a more serious mental disorder that can last weeks to months." In an editorial accompanying the report, Dr. Katherine Wisner of the University of the Pittsburgh School of Medicine "called postpartum depression a major public health problem that needs more attention" and advocated "universal screening programs that would check for mental problems in new mothers." The Los Angeles Times (12/6) also runs the Chicago Tribune article.
      The Seattle Post-Intelligencer /AP (12/6, Tanner) adds, "New dads aren't as vulnerable, probably because they don't experience the same physical and social changes associated with having a baby." Lead author Trine Munk-Olsen, a researcher at Denmark's University of Aarhus, said that "physical changes after childbirth might partly explain why women are vulnerable, including fluctuating hormone levels," possibly "combined with sleep deprivation and the demands of breast-feeding."
      WebMD (12/6, Boyles) reports, "The increase in risk remained throughout the first three months after childbirth, regardless of the age of the mother," although "postpartum risk appeared to decrease with subsequent pregnancies." Dr. Wisner also said that "the findings should serve as a wake-up call to public health officials in the U.S. who have largely ignored postpartum depression in the past."
      HealthDay (12/6, Gordon) notes that, Dr. Dorothy Sit, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and one of the authors of the accompanying editorial, "said women, their families and their health-care providers need to be aware of the increased risk of depression and other disorders following the birth of a first child," adding, "Be ready to seek treatment sooner rather than later." Medscape (12/6, Barclay) adds, "Study limitations include a possible underestimate of risk for postpartum mental disorders, a lack of data on psychiatric symptoms not resulting in hospitalizations, and a lack of information on potential confounders."
      "Post-adoption depression" strikes some adoptive parents.   The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/5, Gammage) reports that "nobody has reliable numbers" on the prevalence of so-called "post-adoption depression." However, "mention depression to those who have adopted from overseas, from countries such as China or Russia, which account for 55 percent of all foreign adoptions, and it seems nearly everyone has a story." While "[t]he condition is not readily recognized by society or by medical experts," mothers who adopt "complain that doctors attribute their symptoms to fatigue or panic attacks." Although the "American Psychiatric Association doesn't recognize post-adoption depression as a distinct illness," professionals "in the field are seeing more people with signs of depression" after an adoption, the Inquirer says. Social worker Regina Levin, of Child and Home Study Associates in Media, and "other professionals say many" parents "are fragile before they turn to adoption, having suffered the grief of infertility or miscarriage." After the process of adoption, including government approvals and "up to a year's wait," those parents "are thrust into parenthood - and in charge of children who are often confused and upset," says the Inquirer. With most of them unable "to start slowly, with a gurgly, cuddly baby," some of these parents "are overwhelmed" and "others feel let down by the accomplishment of a long-sought goal."

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