Reproductive System & Sexual Disorders: Current Research
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-038X
ISSN: 2161-038X
Neha Sharma
N M P Medical Research Institute, India
Warwick Research Services, UK
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Reprod Syst Sex Disord
Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) has a major impact on maternal health and wellbeing with short and long term effect on child and wider family. There are major barriers using anti-depressants due to concerns about infant exposure to medication through breast milk or concerns about potential side effects. Therefore, treatment options are limited. Aim: Aim of this study is to evaluate the effective value of homeopathy compared to standard therapy, to eradicate symptoms of depression, fatigue and health related quality of life. Methods: A total of 144 postpartum women meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depression were recruited from the maternity clinic and randomly assigned to 12 weeks of homeopathy treatment or to usual care. Subjects completed interview and assessments of depression, fatigue and health related quality of life pre and post intervention. Results: The homeopathy group experienced significantly greater rate of improvement in de-pression, fatigue and HRQOL relative to the usual care group with moderate to large effects. Re-liable change index analysis revealed that 78% women in the homeopathy group experienced clinically significant change. Conclusion: These findings support homeopathy as a promising complementary therapy for PPD.
Email: drnsharma@outlook.com