At least 100,000 women will suffer postnatal depression in Britain this year, but only a quarter will be correctly diagnosed and fewer still will get effective treatment, according to a report today from the independent market analysts Datamonitor.
It found mothers often thought they would get better naturally and were reluctant to ask for help dealing with the symptoms of depression, including fatigue, lack of concentration, excessive anxiety over the child's health and feelings of guilt about motherhood failings.
When they did seek assistance, doctors were reluctant to prescribe drugs due to concerns about the transfer of antidepressant medication through breast milk to infants.
"This lack of effective diagnosis and treatment presents a huge danger to the potential mental health of women suffering from postnatal depression," said Nick Alcock, an analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report.
"Postnatal depression is a serious medical condition which has not been taken seriously by all sections of the healthcare community. It can lead on to a life of chronic depression if patients remain untreated, which can impact not just on the patient, but the development of the infant and the family unit as a whole."
The risk of developing a psychosis increased by 14.5 times in the postnatal period and a study of 35,000 births in America found mothers had a sevenfold increased risk of being admitted to a psychiatric hospital in the three months after childbirth.
The report's estimate of the prevalence of postnatal depression was based on international studies showing 10%-15% of all new mothers suffered from it in the three months after giving birth. Results were similar in developed and developing countries.
But only 25% of sufferers were diagnosed. "Three-quarters of all patients suffer in silence, meaning that the depression has the potential to become a chronic and recurring illness," the report said.
The analysts consulted an international panel of professors of psychiatry about how diagnosed cases were treated. Only 30% were prescribed antidepressant medication and usually for six weeks, compared with the six months prescribed for other patients with similar symptoms.
According to UN population forecasts, there will be 669,000 births in Britain this year. Mr Alcock said his research showed 100,000 of the mothers would get postnatal depression, but only 7,400 would be treated effectively with drugs.
Trials showed drugs such as Prozac (fluoxetine) and Effexor (venlafaxine) were effective in treating postnatal depression, but a widescale trial of many drugs was needed to establish efficacy and safety for infants as well as mothers.
Women with postnatal depression were more likely to be treated by obstetricians, gynaecologists and paediatricians than by psychiatric specialists.
