ReviewThe primary care companion for CNS disorders2013
Are antidepressants effective in the treatment of postpartum depression? A systematic review.
Review in The primary care companion for CNS disorders, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Appraisal of systematic reviews on interventions for postpartum depression: systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2021Pooled it
- Computational Repurposing of Asparagus racemosus and Withania somnifera for Postpartum Depression: Insights into MAO-A and Inflammatory Signaling Modulation.Cell biochemistry and biophysics · 2026Article
- Enduring effects of brief interpersonal therapy on depression from pregnancy through 1-year postpartum: A randomized clinical trial.Journal of mood and anxiety disorders · 2026Article
- Brief problem-solving therapy (PST) for women experiencing antenatal depressive symptoms: a randomised, controlled feasibility trial in (an) antenatal care setting in rural Ethiopia.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2025Article
- Postpartum depression: A role for psychedelics?Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2022Review
- Advances in pharmacotherapy for postpartum depression: a structured review of standard-of-care antidepressants and novel neuroactive steroid antidepressants.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2022Review
- Brief problem-solving therapy for antenatal depressive symptoms in primary care in rural Ethiopia: protocol for a randomised, controlled feasibility trial.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2021Article
- The Association Between Demographic Characteristics and Attempting of Pregnancy with Postpartum Depression and Anxiety Among Women Referring to Community Health Centres: A Cross Sectional Study.The Malaysian journal of medical sciences : MJMS · 2020Article
- Article
- ASSERT trial - How to assess the safety and efficacy of a high frequency rTMS in postpartum depression ? A multicenter, double blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2017Article
- Mindful with Your Baby: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Effects of a Mindful Parenting Group Training for Mothers and Their Babies in a Mental Health Context.Mindfulness · 2017Article
- The birth of new neurons in the maternal brain: Hormonal regulation and functional implications.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2016Review
- Influence of sex and stress exposure across the lifespan on endophenotypes of depression: focus on behavior, glucocorticoids, and hippocampus.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2014Review
- Preventing recurrence of postpartum depression by regulating sleep.Expert review of neurotherapeuticsReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIn spite of the paucity of randomized controlled trials of antidepressants in postpartum depression, these drugs are the most commonly used agents in the pharmacologic treatment of postpartum depression. This article reviews the literature on the efficacy of antidepressants in randomized controlled trials of postpartum depression. DATA SOURCES: Four electronic databases, MEDLINE/PubMed (1966-2013), PsycINFO (1806-2013), EMBASE (1980-2013), and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, were searched using a combination of the keywords antidepressive agents/therapeutic use, antidepressant drugs, antidepressant agent/drug therapy, depression, postpartum/drug therapy, postpartum depression, and puerperal depression/drug therapy. STUDY SELECTION: The reference lists of articles identified were also searched. All relevant articles published in English were included. A total of 124 articles were identified. The efficacy of antidepressants has been studied in 6 randomized controlled trials, of which 3 were placebo-controlled studies.
resultsPlacebo-controlled randomized data do not support the notion that antidepressants are efficacious in postpartum depression. However, the methodological flaws of studies have to be kept in mind while interpreting the results of these studies.
conclusionsDue to the paucity of controlled data and methodological limitations of studies, the question about the efficacy of antidepressants in postpartum depression cannot be answered unequivocally.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.