Despite its serious consequences, there is still a limited body of literature on suicidal ideation during the perinatal period, particularly among women with postpartum depression. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation in women with postpartum depression, to identify associated risk and protective factors, and to explore moderating variables in the relationship between suicidal ideation and postpartum depression. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 91 Spanish postpartum women, recruited via social media and midwives. All participants scored ≥ 11 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and had given birth within the past year. Suicidal ideation was assessed using item 10 of the EPDS. 27.5 % of women with postpartum depression reported suicidal ideation. Number of children, postpartum depression and bonding difficulties with the baby were identified as explanatory factors for suicidal ideation. Furthermore, lack of emotional support from family, economic difficulties, anxiety symptoms during pregnancy and baby's irritable temperament were found to moderate the relationship between postpartum depression and suicidal ideation. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of perinatal suicidal ideation and suggest potential screening and intervention strategies aimed at preventing its onset. Identifying both risk and protective factors is crucial for midwives and mental health professionals to support maternal well-being and prevent adverse psychological outcomes.

Prenatal maternal depression affects an estimated one in five women, with implications not only for the mother but also for the child, associating negatively with offspring mental health and cognition. This study aimed to investigate multiple outcomes within the same set of participants from multiple cohorts, explore sex-specific differences in associations, and examine of the role of timing of maternal depression. We performed large-scale individual participant data analyses with a sample size of up to 76,514 participants to investigate prospective associations between prenatal maternal depression and eight offspring behavioural and developmental outcomes, leveraging harmonised data from seven European birth cohorts. Cohort-specific estimates were combined using random-effects meta-analysis. Potential sex differences and the role of pre-pregnancy and postnatal depression in the associations were examined. Prenatal maternal depression was associated with higher internalising, externalising, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder symptoms (6.61-10.90 increased percentile scores). Associations were similar between males and females, largely independent of pre-pregnancy depression, and partially mediated by postnatal maternal depression. Continuous prenatal depressive symptoms were associated with all eight offspring outcomes. These findings emphasise the importance of prenatal maternal depression as a key developmental risk factor. Future work should consider how best to support mental health during pregnancy and children exposed to prenatal depression. Our results contribute to the growing evidence underscoring the need for early intervention and tailored support for those experiencing depression during pregnancy. HappyMums Project, funded by the European Union (Grant Agreement n.101057390).

Cell-type-specific genetic architecture of postpartum depression: A single-cell Mendelian randomization framework for causal gene discovery.

Associations of childhood and adulthood maltreatment with postpartum depression and the role of socio-economic position and social contact.

To investigate associations between fathers' postpartum depression and whether their children lived with them at 3 subsequent time points. We conducted a secondary analysis of a national US cohort of mostly nonmarital births. Paternal depression was assessed when the child was age 1 and fathers' co-residence was assessed when their children were ages 3, 5, and 9. We estimated unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models of associations between paternal depression in the postpartum year and father's subsequent co-residence with the child. Among 1691 new fathers, 8% screened positive for depression when the child was age 1. Thirty-five percent of the parents were married, and 77% lived together (married or cohabiting) when the child was born. Over half (55%) of births were financed by Medicaid. In adjusted models, paternal depression was negatively associated with the father's co-residence with the child most or all of the time when they were 3, 5, and 9 years old, with AORs of 0.47 (CI 0.30-0.72), 0.38 (CI 0.25-0.58), and 0.30 (CI 0.19-0.46), respectively, and with the father's co-residence with the child at least some of the time, with AORs of 0.51 (CI 0.30-0.87), 0.49 (CI 0.31-0.80), and 0.47 (CI 0.30-0.73), respectively. This study found a strong negative association between paternal postpartum depression and subsequent co-residence with the child. This finding supports further investigation into potential mechanisms linking paternal depression, father involvement, and children's development, and underscores the importance of screening for paternal depression as part of routine pediatric care.

Auricular stimulation therapy: An evidence-based practice strategy for depression.

Maternal health disparities persist globally, including among Sub-Saharan African immigrant women in high-income countries. Many come from contexts where pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period are embedded in communal traditions. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the birthplace of cultural safety, limited research has examined African women's maternity experiences. This study forms part of a midwife-led qualitative exploration of the maternity journeys of women from Sub-Saharan Africa in New Zealand, using interpretive description informed by cultural safety and structural competency. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven women between July 2024 and January 2025. Data were analysed inductively using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis. Participants described a repertoire of cultural practices, including herbal and dietary remedies, postpartum rituals, and newborn care customs. Herbal medicine was used to ease labour and promote physiological birth, while cultural nutrition supported recovery and breastfeeding. The extended family played a vital role in postpartum recovery and breastfeeding support. Migration, however, disrupted this communal model, leaving women socially isolated in New Zealand. Participants reported loneliness, lack of family care, and, in some cases, a history of postpartum depression. Despite these challenges, women demonstrated resilience, adapting practices and advocating through transnational family ties and community networks. Participants' cultural practices strongly shape maternity expectations yet often conflict with New Zealand's individualised model of care. Addressing these gaps requires culturally safe, structurally competent maternity models that integrate positive cultural traditions and reduce the risk of isolation. The next phase of this project describes women's clinical maternity care experiences, highlights how structural barriers, misdiagnoses rooted in cultural assumptions, and limited recognition of traditional practices further compromise the delivery of woman-centred care.

Exploring the developmental changes in and the relationship between maternal-offspring attachment and depression in perinatal women: A longitudinal study.

The pregnancy and postpartum period represent a sensitive transitional phase characterized by significant physiological and psychological changes in women’s lives, during which various psychological issues may emerge. A psychological condition frequently encountered in this period is postpartum depression. This may directly affect maternal health and adversely influence the infant and the mother-infant interaction. Among treatment options, psychotherapy and psychopharmacological treatments are prominent, with especially cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy being widely preferred approaches for addressing this disorder. However, both therapeutic methods have certain limitations. Given the limitations of existing treatment methods, there is a pressing need for more effective and innovative intervention approaches to address this disorder. In this context, third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapies offer new treatment alternatives that have the potential to overcome the limitations of traditional therapeutic approaches. In this review, postpartum depression is examined from the perspective of third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapies. The main findings regarding the intervention processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Metacognitive Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Therapies, and Compassion-Focused Therapy are discussed. As a result, with third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches the negative effects of pregnancy and the postpartum period on women could be alleviated by working on issues such as acceptance of emotions, ruminative thinking, emotion regulation skills, and increasing awareness of internal processes.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based secondary prevention programme for postpartum depression, delivered with or without telephone support, compared with usual care. We first conducted a randomised controlled superiority trial to test whether the web-based Parents and Babies programme (Toi, Moi, Bébé; TMB) delivered with motivational telephone support (ie, coaching) was superior to the fully automated programme (ie, self-help). TMB incorporated classic and third-wave cognitive-behavioural therapy components and psychoeducation. Then, we tested whether TMB (both treatment modalities combined) was superior to usual care. The usual care comparison group was drawn from the CONCEPTION prospective pan-Canadian perinatal cohort (N=592). A remote study based at Sainte-Justine Hospital Centre, Quebec, Canada. Web-based intervention programme participants were women aged ≥14 years at 12-25 weeks' gestation, with subclinical to moderate clinical Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores: 9-16. Exclusion criteria were psychosis and self-reported substance abuse. The usual care comparison group was pregnant women ≥18 years old. All participants were living in Canada at study inception. The primary outcome was EPDS scores at 3 months post partum, accounting for baseline EPDS scores and depression events defined as EPDS ≥13 at 3 months post partum. The secondary outcomes were EPDS scores at 6 months post partum, depression events (EPDS≥13) at 6 months post partum, anxiety symptoms (Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale, GAD-7) at 3 and 6 months post partum, accounting for baseline scores for the continuous outcomes; as well as the number of completed intervention modules and well-being scores (WHO 5-Item Well-being Index) at 3 months post partum. We randomised 510 participants to TMB self-help (n=255) or TMB with coaching (n=255); 211 and 214 participants, respectively, were included in the complete-case intention-to-treat analyses. At baseline, 91% lived with a partner, 71% were university graduates and 42% self-reported GAD-7≥10. Randomisation was successful. First, TMB with coaching was not superior to TMB self-help: at 3 months post partum, EPDS scores were TMB self-help (mean 8.0±4.3) vs TMB with coaching (mean 8.6±4.5); effect size was 0.01 (95% CI 0.00 to 0.03; p=0.16). Second, TMB (regardless of intervention arm) was superior to usual care: in adjusted regression models, EPDS scores were 6.2 units lower (per SD, 95% CI -8.2 to -4.3) in TMB (both treatment modalities combined) than in usual care; and proportions of depression events were 4.7 units lower (per SD on the logit scale, 95% CI -6.6 to -2.7) in TMB (combined) than in usual care. No other group differences were observed. Our findings suggest that, in women with subclinical to moderate clinical antenatal depressive symptoms, receiving a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy-based programme in addition to usual care can reduce depression postnatally. NCT05110456.

Simulation-based interprofessional education may increase confidence in postpartum depression management.

Effects of a mobile data-based exercise intervention on postpartum depressive symptoms, maternal bonding, and infant crying: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: The objective is to study the prevalence of anxiety and its associated factors in mothers of neonates admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), through case–control study in a tertiary care hospital, Punjab. The focus was exclusively on maternal perinatal anxiety, given the unique stresses of the NICU environment. Material and Methods: In this hospital-based cross-sectional case–control study, 160 mothers of preterm and/or low birth weight neonates in the NICU were compared to 160 mothers of healthy full-term neonates (controls). Participants (ages 18–45) were assessed using the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS) for anxiety. Key sociodemographic and clinical variables (age, education, socio-economic status, etc.) were recorded. Statistical analyses included Chi-square tests (or Fisher’s exact test) for categorical comparisons with significance at P < 0.05. All mothers were interviewed between 3 and 7-day postpartum while still admitted (inpatient department) in the obstetric ward (controls) or NICU (cases). In addition, participants were screened for depressive symptoms using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and mothers scoring ≥10 were excluded to avoid inclusion of postpartum depression or blues. Results: Mothers of NICU-admitted babies (cases) showed a statistically significant difference in prevalence of perinatal anxiety (PASS score ≥21) than mothers of healthy newborn babies (control) (92.5% vs. 70.6%, P < 0.001). Maternal age under 25 years, cesarean delivery, and having a female neonate were each significantly associated with heightened anxiety levels in NICU mothers (all P < 0.05). No significant differences in anxiety were found with respect to maternal education, occupation of the mother, socio-economic status, domicile, family structure, pregnancy planning, or previous history of abortion. Conclusion: Nearly all mothers with NICU-admitted neonates experienced clinically significant anxiety. Younger maternal age, cesarean birth, and a female newborn emerged as greater risk factors. These findings underscore the need for routine anxiety screening and tailored psychosocial support for mothers in the NICU setting to mitigate anxiety and improve outcomes for both mother and neonate.

ABSTRACT Research on interactions between child and environmental factors in the development of infant disorganized attachment is relatively limited. Using predictive modeling, we explored how child, maternal, and family-related variables jointly predicted attachment disorganization in 204 infant-mother dyads. Almost all mothers were diagnosed with postpartum depression. We measured child, maternal, and family-related variables with validated questionnaires when infants were M = 2.94 months and attachment (dis)organization with the Strange Situation Procedure at M = 13.84 months. Lasso regression identified relevant predictors and classification trees explored their interactions. Classification trees achieved moderate overall accuracy (.65). Both methods converged on the interaction between firstborn status and high parenting stress attributed to child characteristics as particularly relevant. Findings require replication in larger pooled datasets including additional established risk factors for disorganized attachment. We highlight the value of predictive modeling in attachment research and evaluating non-linear associations between child and parental characteristics and attachment disorganization.

Air pollution is an environmental stimulus that may predispose pregnant women to postpartum depression (PPD). However, the relationship between maternal exposure to air pollutants and PPD is still unclear. Understanding the magnitude of this effect is critical to developing public health policies that protect women's reproductive health. We searched all studies published in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science up to December 2024. The research protocol has been registered in PROSPERO. Test for homogeneity based on Cochran's Q and I2 statistics was calculated, and the restricted maximum likelihood random effect model was applied. We assessed the overall quality of pooled estimates, the influence of single studies on the meta-analytic estimates, sources of between-study heterogeneity, and publication bias. Of the 7881 unique publications identified, nine studies met the inclusion criteria for final review, involving 405 635 pregnant women. We comprehensively assessed the available data on air pollutants and PPD risk. Maternal exposure to particulate matter diameter ≤10 μm (PM10) increases the risk of PPD (pooled odds ratio (OR) = 1.08; 95% CI = 1.02-1.14, the whole pregnancy; pooled OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.03-1.15, the second trimester). Additionally, PPD was significantly associated with an increase of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrate ion (NO3-), and ammonium ion (NH4+). Maternal exposure to PM10, CO, NO3-, and NH4+ during pregnancy is associated with PPD occurrence, especially in the second trimester. Interventions to improve air pollutants may mitigate the maternal risks of developing PPD. Our findings support public health interventions and environmental policy reforms to protect maternal mental health. PROSPERO CRD42024626359.

"I thought I could postpartum-proof my experience": Embodying, resisting, and negotiating medicalization online.

Given the increased use of surrogacy as a means of having a child, more research is needed on the experience of Postpartum Depression (PPD) among surrogates. This article presents case studies from qualitative interviews with surrogates to develop an initial understanding of the lived experience of Postpartum Depression (PPD), as well as to highlight a number of unique factors that might contribute to and buffer against the experience of PPD and related symptoms among this group of women. These case studies are selected to explore the personal narratives of a small sample to investigate phenomena in unique or complex situations in which little research has been conducted. Several factors emerged with regard to the experience of PPD in surrogate pregnancies. These factors spanned psychological, interpersonal, financial, and medical aspects of the surrogacy and postpartum experience. The factors included: relationships with the intended parents, finances, pressures to be mentally healthy, and self-care post-delivery. The article will include presentation of the extant literature, several case studies, and findings with regard to experiences of PPD among surrogates. Clinical implications for feminist practice based on the results are also discussed.

Psychological support and postpartum depression in twin gestations: a prospective analysis using the Edinburgh Scale

Maternal and infant correlates of postpartum depression: a study from low socioeconomic communities in Karachi, Pakistan.

▼Zuranolone for the treatment of moderate or severe postnatal depression.