NURSING CARE FOR POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION IN ADOLESCENT MOTHERS

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Sexual activity in adolescence has begun at an increasingly early age. Pregnancy has a specific impact on the life trajectories of adolescents, presenting a challenge, since several risk factors combine in a probabilistic way, increasing vulnerability to depression. It is recognized that adolescents have the right to receive comprehensive care throughout the prenatal period, which requires nursing support. Thus, this study will be guided by the question: What is the nursing care for postpartum depression in adolescent mothers? METHODOLOGY: This is a literature review, carried out to guide the research, in which the following question was formulated: What was the nursing care for postpartum depression in adolescent mothers? The research was based on the review of scientific studies found in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS) and Nursing Database (BDENF) databases, using the following controlled health descriptors: Nursing Care; Adolescent; Postpartum Depression, combined with the Boolean operator AND. The inclusion criteria for the selected articles were: complete original articles, available online and free of charge, published in the last five years, with a time frame from 2019 to 2024, in Portuguese, English and Spanish. Duplicate studies, theses, monographs and those that did not meet the guiding question were excluded. The data were presented in tables and analyses based on the relevant literature. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Nursing plays an essential role in prenatal and postpartum monitoring, identifying Postpartum Depression early and offering emotional support to pregnant women. The nursing team must be attentive to emotional changes in the puerperium, using tools such as the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale for diagnosis. Integrated action with the multidisciplinary team and health policies, such as the National Policy for Comprehensive Care for Women's Health, are essential for effective and humanized care. CONCLUSION: The study highlights the importance of nursing in the prevention and early identification of Postpartum Depression, with actions such as health education and monitoring from prenatal care. Nurses must be alert to signs of the condition and act quickly to protect the health of the mother and baby. In addition, it highlights the need for more research on the factors that influence PPD.