Mental health of parents important during the perinatal period

Perinatal mood disorders such as postnatal depression and perinatal anxiety, may affect both mothers and fathers simultaneously.as per a new systematic review and meta-analysis. 

Previous studies show that a history of mood disorders increase the possibility of developing a common mental disorder in parents.

Around 3 in 100 couples were found to both suffer from late postnatal depression, which occurs three to 12 months after a child is born.Meanwhile, in approximately 2 in 100 couples, parents experienced antenatal depression - before the baby was born - (1.72%), and early postnatal depression - up to 12 weeks after the birth - (2.37%).

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, analysed 23 studies with data from close to 30000 couples who had low-risk pregnancies. The findings showed that mothers who experienced psychosocial factors, such as early life stressors, limited social support and exposure to intimate partner violence were more at risk of developing a perinatal mood disorder.

While for fathers, the main factors associated with an increased risk of perinatal mood disorder were lower levels of education, unemployment, low social support and marital distress.Parental perinatal mood disorders are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, impaired bonding with the newborn, and behavioural problems in their children. Co-occurrence of mood disorders in parents may amplify these negative outcomes.

The authors hence concluded that perinatal depression can follow a protracted course. most men and women who have depressive symptoms at 4 and 8 weeks post-partum continue to have symptoms at 6 months post-partum, and some develop symptoms in the later postnatal period.

Reference:  Smythe KL, Petersen I, Schartau P. Prevalence of Perinatal Depression and Anxiety in Both Parents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(6):e2218969. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.18969