Mental health in the United Kingdom
Agnes Hann of the National Childbirth Trust said, "These findings are shocking, and mean that thousands of women experiencing potentially serious perinatal mental health problems are not getting the support they need. Perinatal mental illness can have a severe and long-term impact on mothers, babies and families. In extreme circumstances, it can result in tragedy – suicide is a leading cause of maternal death." From roughly 10% to 20% of women giving birth experience some type of mental illness such as anxiety and depression or more complex problems like PTSD and psychosis. With about 665,000 births a year in England 66,500–133,000 women a year develop illnesses. In 2016, 13,000 women were treated by perinatal teams while 800 became inpatients. This means the majority were untreated.
Childbirth in Nepal
In a study of Nepalese women done in 2015, postpartum depressive symptoms were found among 30% of women. Mothers aged 20 to 29 years, did not have a history of pregnancy-induced health problems or subjective feelings of stress were less likely to have depressive symptoms than mothers who were older or did not those problems or feelings of stress. Other significant factors associated with postpartum depression include husband's alcoholism, polygamy, previous depression, multiparity, smoking and depression during pregnancy.