Women's Experiences with Postpartum Depression During the Covid-19 Pandemic: An Integrative Review of the Literature

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this integrative review of literature was to assess the correlation between the rates of Postpartum Depression (PPD) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Background: Risk factors of PPD include social isolation and stressful life events that were both occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: An integrative review of the information provided by ten scholarly articles from the EBSCO databases CINAHL and MEDLINE. These articles were then synthesized by theme in the literature review section. Analysis: Three major themes were used to separate the articles used for this integrative review. These themes included "The Importance of Social Support", " Significant Increase in Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic", and "Other Risk Factors During the Pandemic." Conclusions: Postpartum depression is a devastating mental health issue that many women deal with in the United States. Factors brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic increased the risk of PPD. There must be new pandemic-related implementations and more research done on PPD.