(Mason, Rice & Records, 2005, p.52) The literature dealing with postnatal depression has sought over many years to understand the phenomena of postnatal depression and to find causal links to external and internal environments that could cause it in certain women. In Grote and Bledsoe the goal of the work was to study the influence of optimism and stress in the life and mind of the new mother and determine if there was a link between the negative and/or positive the led to or helped avoid postnatal depression. The results of this research correlated internal optimism with a reduced risk of postnatal depression but also found causal links between postnatal depression and life stresses. Though internal optimism was able to counter these effects it is clear that the lack of social support that can be linked with life stress still increased the incidence of depression in some women. (Grote & Bledsoe, 2007, p. 107)

Similar results were found in a cross cultural study that demonstrated that reduces social support, and especially from the father/husband partner, as perceived by the mother increased the incidence of postnatal depression and that broader social support was able to help combat some of these issues. (Hyun et al., 2002, p. 515) Hyun et al. also found significant differences in the cultural support systems of Korean, Hong Kong and U.S. mothers and corresponding differences in the rates of depression among new mothers, stating that Asian cultures are more likely to seek and allow support from a broader base while U.S. marriages being relatively egalitarian demand that most of the support come from the husband/partner and when such support was lacking they were therefore more likely to experience postnatal depression. (Hyun et al., 2002, p. 515)

Lastly, postpartum depression can have longstanding physical and emotional effects on not only the mother's ability to cope with the transition of parenthood but on her ability to bond and effectively care for the child. Postnatal depression is in fact an indicator for poor infant health and coping, making the period an essential one for social support and intervention not only for the sake of the mother, but for the immediate and future health...

(Conway & Kennedy, 2004, p. 260) Clearly, some women overcome the lack of postnatal social support and do just fine in the transition but the causal links between social support and depression clearly indicted the phenomena of lack of social support as a high risk situation for new mothers that can be resolved by those around her if the condition is recognized, acknowledged and treated early enough.
References

Clemmens, D.A. (2002). Adolescent Mother's Depression after the Birth of Their Babies: Weathering the Storm. Adolescence, 37(147), 551.

Conway, K.S., & Kennedy, L.D. (2004). Maternal Depression and the Production of Infant Health. Southern Economic Journal, 71(2), 260.

1995). Depression a Multimedia Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Frye, a.A., & Garber, J. (2005). The Relations among Maternal Depression, Maternal Criticism and Adolescents' Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33(1), 1.

Goldstein, L.H., Diener, M.L., & Mangelsdorf, S.C. (1996). Maternal Characteristics and Social Support Across the Transition to Motherhood: Associations with Maternal Behavior. Journal of Family Psychology, 10(1), 60-71.

Grote, N.K., & Bledsoe, S.E. (2007). Predicting Postpartum Depressive Symptoms in New Mothers: The Role of Optimism and Stress Frequency during Pregnancy. Health and Social Work, 32(2), 107.

Hyun, O., Lee, W., Yoo, a., Cho, B., Yoo, K., Miller, B.C., et al. (2002). Social Support for Two Generations of New Mothers in Selected Populations in Korea, Hong Kong and the United States. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 33(4), 515.

Mason, W.A., Rice, M.J., & Records, K. (2005). The Lived Experience of Postpartum Depression in a Psychiatric Population. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 41(2), 52.

Park, E.M., & Dimigen, G. (1994). Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Social Support System after Childbirth. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 25(3), 345.

Parker, G., Straton, D., Wilhelm, K., Mitchell, P., Austin, M., Eyers, K., et al. (2002). Dealing with Depression a Commonsense Guide to…