Introduction: Exploring the Connection Between Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Postpartum Depression (PPD), and Vice Versa

Meet the experts for this debate on the complex relationship between MDD and PPD. Jennifer Payne, MD, asserts that PPD is one type of MDD that is likely to be more homogenous from a biological and environmental perspective than other types. Melanie Barrett, MD, points to the evidence that many women who develop PPD have had a history of MDD and will go on to have additional episodes of MDD outside of the peripartum period.

Transcript:

Dr Jennifer Payne: Welcome to Great Debates and Updates in Psychiatry. The great debates are brought to you by the Psych Congress Network. I'm Dr Jennifer Payne, and I'm here with my colleague, Dr Melanie Barrett. Today, we'll be exploring the connection between major depressive disorder, or MDD, and postpartum depression, also known as PPD, and vice versa. Dr Barrett, why don't you introduce yourself?

Dr Melanie Barrett: Yeah, hi. Thank you for the welcome, and I'm excited to be here today. Again, my name is Dr Melanie Barrett. I am an outpatient psychiatrist in Oklahoma. I work for a behavioral health company, and in my practice, I focus on women's mental health, interventional treatment options, treatment-resistant depression, and education. So, I'm really excited to be here to talk about this important topic of postpartum depression.

Dr Jennifer Payne: Great. Well, thank you for doing this. I'm Dr. Jennifer Payne. I'm a professor and vice-chair of research in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia. I'm a reproductive psychiatrist, and I specialize in the management of psychiatric disorders during and after pregnancy. I also conduct research and have been focused on biomarkers of postpartum depression. So, thank you for joining us. Before we begin, we have a quick poll we'd like you to respond to. You'll see some questions on your screen. Please go ahead and respond to those questions now.