Women who experience depression after having a child are known to experience higher levels of distress in terms of symptoms and relationship difficulties (particularly marital) than non-childbearing women with depression. PND can have long term effects on the mother, her infant and children and on the couple and family relationships.

The nature of these effects will depend on the number and severity of the symptoms and the length of time that the mother's depression goes unidentified or inadequately treated. With early identification and skilled treatment and support most women with PND will recover, their recovery can mean an enhancement of their life skills and emotional development, and the re-building of relationships.

Impact on the mother:

As with general depression PND can impact enormously on the mother's physical well being - the changes in her diet, sleep and activity levels can result in her being less well nourished, exhausted and overly or less active than usual. Combined with ongoing depression and high levels of anxiety this will in turn reduce the body's immunity and ability to fight infection. Eventually the emotional distress of depression and anxiety may be expressed in increasing physical symptoms that might be felt as pain, headaches, chest pain or difficulty breathing.

There are also long term implications for the mother's mental health as a result of PND, particularly if there is inadequate treatment. Pitt (1968, as reported by Milgrom) found that without treatment 30% of women experiencing severe PND are still very unwell one year after the baby. Fifty percent of women with PND can continue to experience symptoms 2 years after diagnosis. In addition, women who have experienced PND are twice as likely to experience future depression over a five-year period, compared to women who have experienced depression unrelated to childbirth.