A new mother four days postpartum will not get out of bed to eat or feed the baby. What condition should you suspect?

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Postpartum mood disturbances range from mild blues to major depression and, in some cases, psychosis. The key is how much the mood problem impairs daily functioning and infant care. Postpartum blues are common early on and mild, with mood swings that improve within a couple of weeks. Postpartum depression, by contrast, involves persistent low mood, fatigue, changes in sleep and appetite, and a clear loss of ability to care for oneself or the baby. When a new mother just four days after delivery won’t get out of bed to eat or feed the baby, that level of impairment points to a depressive episode rather than a transient blues or other conditions. Postpartum psychosis would present with features like hallucinations, delusions, and disorientation, requiring urgent psychiatric care, and anxiety disorders typically involve excessive worry rather than this level of withdrawal from caregiving. So the scenario aligns best with postpartum depression.