A 19-year-old female presents with crying, saying she is sick and tired of everything. Her husband reports mood swings since the birth of their child one month ago. What condition should you suspect?

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Multiple Choice

A 19-year-old female presents with crying, saying she is sick and tired of everything. Her husband reports mood swings since the birth of their child one month ago. What condition should you suspect?

Postpartum depression is a mood disorder that often begins in the first weeks after delivery and lasts at least two weeks. It commonly presents with persistent sadness or tearfulness, fatigue, feelings of being overwhelmed, sleep disturbances, and loss of interest or pleasure — symptoms that align with the description of crying and feeling “sick and tired of everything” since birth. The postpartum timing helps distinguish it from other conditions. Postpartum psychosis would show more severe symptoms such as confusion, disorganized thoughts, and delusions or hallucinations, often very soon after delivery. Postpartum anxiety centers on excessive worry about the baby rather than a dominant depressive mood. Major depressive disorder can occur at any time, but the postpartum context makes postpartum depression the most fitting diagnosis here.

Postpartum depression is a mood disorder that often begins in the first weeks after delivery and lasts at least two weeks. It commonly presents with persistent sadness or tearfulness, fatigue, feelings of being overwhelmed, sleep disturbances, and loss of interest or pleasure — symptoms that align with the description of crying and feeling “sick and tired of everything” since birth. The postpartum timing helps distinguish it from other conditions. Postpartum psychosis would show more severe symptoms such as confusion, disorganized thoughts, and delusions or hallucinations, often very soon after delivery. Postpartum anxiety centers on excessive worry about the baby rather than a dominant depressive mood. Major depressive disorder can occur at any time, but the postpartum context makes postpartum depression the most fitting diagnosis here.

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