Maternity Blues

Abstract

Transitory depression and tearfulness occurring on one or two days during the early Puerperium (commonly known as ‘mother's' or ‘maternity blues', ‘third, fourth, or tenth-day blues', or ‘the transitory syndrome’) is often mentioned as a normal finding after from 15 per cent (Oppenheim, 1962) to nearly 80 per cent (Robin, 1962) of deliveries. Physical discomfort and psychological difficulty at the onset of lactation, ‘narcissistic loss' before discovery of the child (Sclare, 1955), perineal soreness and hormonal changes (Railton, 1961) have all been invoked as causes.