Which feature best characterizes postpartum blues as opposed to postpartum depression?

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The main idea being tested is how the course of symptoms helps distinguish postpartum blues from postpartum depression. The best feature is rapid onset after delivery with a short, self-limited duration. Postpartum blues typically begin within the first couple of days after birth and resolve within about two weeks, presenting with mood lability, tearfulness, irritability, and fatigue but not profound functional impairment. In contrast, postpartum depression involves more persistent depressive symptoms—such as low mood, anhedonia, guilt, sleep and appetite changes, and functional impairment—that last weeks to months and often require treatment. Delusional thinking about the infant points toward postpartum psychosis, not blues, and preoccupation with the infant’s health can occur in various anxiety or mood states but is not the defining feature of blues.