Postpartum Anxiety

Postpartum anxiety is defined as anxiety that is experienced following childbirth. In contrast to postpartum depression, which has a relatively homogeneous presentation, there are many manifestations of postpartum anxiety. The most commonly studied types of postpartum anxiety are postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and postpartum panic disorder. A small line of research suggests that generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) occurs at a higher rate in the postpartum period than at other times in women’s lives. A lesser known manifestation of postpartum anxiety is postpartum social anxiety disorder. This entry discusses each of these manifestations of postpartum anxiety.