[Postpartum depression]. / Depressione post-partum.

From a review of the literature it emerges that postnatal depression is present in 10-15% of women during the first year after birth. Some studies have showed that a higher percentage of women with problems of depression commit infanticide compared to non-depressed women. A number of studies have been performed to identify the risk factors which may be used to predict postnatal depression during pregnancy; it is important that gynecologists recognise these factors in order to prevent the onset of this pathology during the postnatal period. Another aspect which emerges from the literature is that the absence of social rituals surrounding birth in the industrialised society, in which the transition role of the new mother is not always recognised, may be an important factor in the etiology of postnatal depression.

Placental transfer of phenobarbital: what is new?

The placental transfer of phenobarbital was investigated in 35 mother-infant pairs at birth. The drug was administered prenatally to the mothers for maternal epilepsy (group 1, n = 5), gestational hypertension and preeclampsia (group 2, n = 20) and prophylaxis of intraventricular hemorrhage in premature deliveries (group 3, n = 10). The phenobarbital levels in arterial cord blood were 100 +/- 2.8% in group 1, 89 +/- 21% in group 2 and 77 +/- 16% in group 3 with respect to the levels observed in the mothers. The most important factor influencing the transplacental passage was the duration of maternal treatment in the infant of group 1 (r = 0.80, p < 0.01), the gestational age in the infants of group 2 (r = 0.74, p < 0.01) and the arterial cord pH in the infants of group 3 (r = 0.89, p < 0.001).