Early perinatal diagnosis of mothers at risk of developing post-partum depression a concise guide for obstetricians, midwives, neonatologists and paediatricians

Objective: In this article, we tried to provide all those involved in perinatal medicine with a concise guide to detect mothers at risk of developing post-partum depression. Motherhood is a critical situation characterized by role conflicts because conflicts among the role of mother, worker and wife are the norm in the post-partum period and may jeopardize the mother's existence. Methods: We have described a kind of personality that is at great risk of developing post-partum depression because of the incapacity to creatively manage situations of role conflict. This personality structure is called typus melancholicus, and we operationally defined its main features: orderliness, conscientiousness, hypernomia/heteronomia and intolerance of ambiguity. Results: We have shown how these mothers may typically behave during pregnancy and early motherhood: they cannot avoid behaving with feverish perfectionism, developing an exaggerated preoccupation towards the unborn child and hostility towards persons and events that are experienced as an obstacle to their search for perfection. They ultra-carefully follow all the steps concerning paediatric check-ups and feel all the responsibility relating to the care of the child, without being able to delegate to someone else or share their feelings. Conclusion: We hope to provide those clinicians who are engaged in the care of pregnant women and their children with a valuable and user-friendly instrument for understanding and making a timely diagnoses of at-risk psychopathological phenomena.