Risk of Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Psychosis in Patients With Obstetric Complications: A Case-Control Study

Obstetric complications-particularly preeclampsia/eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, preterm birth, and gestational diabetes-may act as physiological stressors that interact with underlying vulnerabilities, consistent with stress-diathesis and inflammatory models of psychopathology. These findings support a multifactorial conceptualization of postpartum psychiatric illness and emphasize the importance of integrating obstetric risk profiles into postpartum mental health screenings. In low-resource settings like Pakistan, targeting women with complicated deliveries and known psychosocial risk factors through collaborative, interdisciplinary care models can help prevent chronic maternal mental health conditions and improve developmental outcomes for children.