Postnatal depression is a common condition that may have a significant negative impact on both infant and mother, often remaining undiagnosed and untreated. Development of effective means of detection, prevention and treatment of postnatal depression is a major health challenge. The objective of this article is to critically review pharmacological, psychological and psychosocial approaches of prevention and treatment for postnatal depression. There is little evidence of short-term success for

more »

... eventive interventions and some evidence of short-term success for treatment interventions. No preventive or therapeutic studies, however, have provided evidence for long-term success. There is a need for future research into the prevention and treatment of postnatal depression including the assessment of long-term effects on the child's development as well as feasibility in relation to cost-effectiveness. Expert Rev. Neurotherapeutics 7(5), 557-576 (2007) Biological prevention There are few randomized, controlled trials reporting biological means of prevention for PND and all were examined in the scope of this article. They include: antidepressant medication, hormonal therapy, dietary calcium and thyroxine. There is one open-label pilot study of omega-3 fatty-acid supplementation. The preventive effect of pain relief during delivery has also been assessed. Antidepressant prevention Howard and colleagues searched for randomized studies of antidepressants for prevention of PND, finding two studies which both examined women with a past history of