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Why Women Lie About Postpartum Depression

Mother and baby rest on sofa.
Donnie Ray Jones
/
Flickr - Creative Commons - https://flic.kr/p/i67tuh
A new study finds that women don't disclose postpartum mood disorder symptoms, even when asked about them directly.

Up to one in five women suffer from a postpartum mood disorder like depression. But a new study finds that 20 percent of them do not report their symptoms to a healthcare provider, even when they are asked directly. 

Women with strong social support networks, previous mental health issues or higher stress levels were more likely to disclose their symptoms. Host Frank Stasio talks with Betty-Shannon Prevatt, lead author of the study anda doctorate student at North Carolina State University, about why women sometimes hide their symptoms even from their doctors, and what the healthcare community could do better to get them treatment.  

This segment originally aired on Aug 30, 2017.

Jennifer Brookland is the American Homefront Project Veterans Reporting Fellow. She covers stories about the military and veterans as well as issues affecting the people and places of North Carolina.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
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