Postpartum depression has been described as a thief that steals motherhood. It can result in tragedy and sometimes in headline-gripping maternal suicide or infanticide. Because one of the highest priorities for nursing is to continually advance the knowledge that underlies nursing practice, it is essential that we understand what nurse researchers have done to advance the knowledge base of postpartum depression. This integrative review is a two-part series for MCN that summarizes 141 postpartum depression studies conducted by nurse researchers from around the globe, including United States, Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong, Taiwan), Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Turkey, and Malaysia. Specific areas of postpartum depression to which nurse researchers have devoted their primary attention include epidemiology, risk factors, transcultural perspectives, instrument development, screening, interventions, and mother-infant interactions.
This two-part series summarizes 141 postpartum depression studies that have been conducted by nurse researchers from around the globe. Studies contributing to the knowledge base of postpartum depression were conducted in the following nine countries: United States, Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong, Taiwan), Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Turkey, and Malaysia. Part 1 of this series addressed the contributions of nurse researchers in the areas of epidemiology, risk factors, and transcultural perspectives related to postpartum depression. This article is Part 2, and it describes what nurse researchers have contributed to the following aspects of postpartum depression: instrumentation/screening, interventions, mother-infant interactions, family dynamics, breastfeeding, preterm births, biological factors, clinicians' knowledge, and mothers' use of health services.