ABSTRACT
Antidepressants are the mainstay of drug treatment for moderate or severe postpartum depression. Knowledge of predictors of response could help optimize treatment and reduce the adverse consequences of postpartum depression. The purpose of this systematic review was to ascertain predictors of response or remission to antidepressant treatment in women with postpartum depression. The electronic databases of MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Evidence-based Medicine Reviews were searched through December 2019. The search was limited to studies published in the English language. Reference lists of articles that met the inclusion criteria were also searched. We identified some predictors of response and remission that could potentially assist in the optimization of drug treatment of postpartum depression; however, caution is needed to apply these findings in clinical practice due to the heterogeneous nature of postpartum depression. The results of our review highlight the urgent need to identify predictors of response, non-response, or remission to antidepressants in women with postpartum depression.
