In this study, the postpartum depression was dealt with under the psychosociologic view, aiming to learn and describe the central and peripheral structure of postnatal mothers' social representations. To eighty-four participants of low income and users of health public service were applied the free words association, a bio-demografic questionnaire and the Edinburg's Scale. An incidency of 33% of postnatal mothers with depression symptomatology was noticed. For the inductor stimulus "depression", emerged, on the central core, the elements of sadness and harassment, and on the peripheral zone became evident the social representations that changed between paradise and suffering. The condition of being mother and have child, in accordance with the central core, causes contentment, produces happiness and pleasure and, simultaneously, is associated to the psychic suffering, the social representation of postpartum depression. The verification of these antagonistic elements present on the social representations signalize for the necessity of more deepen studies.
Social representations; Postpartum depression; Puerperium, Maternity; Central core
