Selittle

Hi, my name is Sarah and I currently am a junior nursing student at the University at Buffalo in New York. Just this spring I began a clinical rotation in a woman's health clinic and a mother baby unit at a local suburban hospital. For an assignment, we were asked to post a question that resulted from being in our clinical sites. When I worked in the woman's health clinic, I was administering many forms of birth control. One of the most popular types of birth control was Depo- Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate) because of the convenience with not having to take a pill everyday. During my health teaching on this topic, one of the side affects that was most important to mention was the risk for depression. Those prone to depression should not take Depo-Provera because this can make the depression worse. The interesting thing about this was while working on the post partum unit at the hospital, I saw the administration of Depo Provera to many woman post partum to prevent pregnancy. It is well known that post partum depression is a prevalent form of depression in women who have just had children and can have devastating affects. The question that I have is if Depo- Provera is seen to cause or worsen depression is it possible that giving it to women post partum can make the onset of post partum depression more prevalent and more severe? In the hospital I saw first hand early signs and symptoms of post partum depression and it is something that should be taken seriously. If Depo was seen to complicate this issue, I personally would not want a loved one of mine to take this risk if other methods were available. Any comments are appreciated, Thank you, Sarah