The Department of Neuroscience is pleased to invite you to its upcoming seminar entitled “Postpartum depression: improving understanding to provide better support,” which will be held on September 10 from 11am to 12.30pm in the Émile Duclaux lecture hall. The seminar, open to all, will cover several topics, especially the value of early digital screening, approved psychotherapies (CBT, interpersonal therapy, mother-child therapies) and the search for biomarkers characterizing postpartum depression that can be used to treat and normalize the mother-child bond and infant development.

The perinatal period, from conception to early childhood, is a time of considerable upheaval. In France, two months after giving birth, a third of mothers experience anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts. Without treatment, these symptoms can be harmful for both the parents and the child. Early diagnosis is therefore crucial.

The seminar will present the state of the art on postpartum depression. We will see that the condition, which occurs after birth (and sometimes also during pregnancy), combines persistent sadness, loss of interest, fatigue, irritability/anxiety, difficulty sleeping and loss of appetite, feelings of guilt, difficulty bonding, and sometimes hopelessness and despair. Unlike baby blues, postpartum depression is long-lasting and has an impact on daily life.

The seminar will include three sessions:

•    11-11.20am: Specific characteristics of perinatal depression with Dr. Sarah Tebeka, a psychiatrist in the Perinatal Psychiatry Department in Louis-Mourier Hospital (AP-HP) in Colombes and at Université Paris Cité.

•    11.30-11.50am: The role of the placenta in postpartum depression with Prof. Raoul Belzeaux, a psychiatrist and head of the medical team in the Somato-Psychic Unit at Montpellier University Hospital.

•    12-12.20pm: Mental health of future and young mothers: presentation of the May app with Dr. Cindy Bokobza, Scientific Manager at May.

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