perinatal mental health

5135306732_7cd98b3e39_b

Introduction

The term ‘perinatal’ refers to the period before and after childbirth, usually defined as the time of pregnancy up to and including one year after giving birth. Physiological and emotional changes of pregnancy, labour and caring for a newborn baby can make this a vulnerable time for new mothers and fathers.

What we already know

Up to 20% of women develop a mental health problem during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth (Bauer et al. 2014). Depression is the most prevalent mental illness in the perinatal period, with around 10 to 14% of mothers affected during pregnancy or after the birth of a baby. Around 3% of new mothers are estimated to suffer with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Postpartum psychosis (also known as puerperal psychosis) affects around 2 in 1000 new mothers. Unlike milder forms of depression and anxiety, this severe condition is more likely to occur after childbirth and most cases are within the first few weeks of the baby being born (Hogg 2014).

Fathers also experience mental health difficulties during the perinatal period, although we know a lot less about this because the research is much thinner on the ground. Depression and anxiety are common in fathers during the perinatal period. We know that about 5-10% of men experience clinical depression during this period (Paulson et al, 2010), and 5-15% are affected by anxiety disorders (Leach et al, 2016).

The issue of perinatal mental illness is important not only because of the effect on the mother’s health, but the effects on the child’s health may impact on their emotional, cognitive and even physical development.

The LSE & Centre for Mental Health 2014 report estimated the expense to society of perinatal mental health problems to include:

  • One case of perinatal depression around £74,000
  • One case of perinatal anxiety around £35,000
  • One case of perinatal psychosis around £53,000

Note that these are estimated costs to society and not costs to the public sector directly. This report was discussed in further detail here.

Mental illness is also one of the leading causes of death in women in the perinatal period.

Areas of uncertainty

It is estimated that half of the cases of perinatal depression and anxiety in the UK are not identified, so there is uncertainty over how to improve detection rates, as well as interventions for when high risk women are identified .

What’s in the pipeline

For those women living in the UK, access to perinatal mental health services can be a postcode lottery. Women in around half the UK have no access to specialist perinatal mental health services and it is hoped that these limited services will expand. It is also hoped that all frontline healthcare workers coming into contact with this group of women will have specific training on perinatal mental illness (including midwives, health visitors and GPs).

References

Bauer A, Parsonage M, Knapp M, Iemmi V, Adelaja B. (2014) Costs of Perinatal Mental Health Problems. London School of Economics and Political Science [PDF]

Paulson JF, Bazemore SD. (2010) Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers and its association with maternal depression: a meta-analysis. J Am Med Assoc. 2010;303(19):1961–9.

Leach LS, Poyser C, Cooklin AR, Giallo R. (2016) Prevalence and course of anxiety disorders (and symptom levels) in men across the perinatal period: a systematic review. J Affect Disord. 2016;190:675–86. [PubMed abstract]

Hogg S. (2014) Prevention in Mind. All Babies Count: Spotlight on Perinatal Mental Health. NSPCC [PDF]

Photo Credits

Felipe Fernandes CC BY 2.0

Acknowledgement

Written by: Josephine Neale
Reviewed by: Ellen Grimas
Last updated: Mar 2017
Review due: Sep 2017

Our perinatal mental health Blogs

Pregnancy and bipolar disorder: international prescribing consensus?

Pregnant woman with drugs

Dean Connolly looks at an international study which asks: Is there consensus across evidence-based guidelines for the psychotropic drug management of bipolar disorder during the perinatal period?

[read the full story...]

Parents and volunteers’ experiences of family support

CROP RESIZE - 10759556735_02e8491cb9_k (1)

Jo Moriarty’s blog looks at parents and volunteers’ experiences of Home-Start, a family support programme, via the theoretical framework of liminality.

[read the full story...]

Should we screen new Dads for depression? #DadsMHday

nick-stephenson-436009-unsplash

André Tomlin shares his own experiences of being diagnosed with postnatal depression and wonders how we can improve screening for other fathers at risk during the perinatal period.

[read the full story...]

Persistent and severe postnatal depression predicts adverse outcomes in children

j-w-675134-unsplash

Sophie Graham and Jennifer Burgess explore the associations between persistent and severe postnatal depression in mothers and mental health and educational outcomes in their offspring.

[read the full story...]

The key to maternal mental health? Make it a collective experience again #maternalmhmatters

180104-Maternal-Journal-new1-Cropped-425x567

Carmine Pariante, Hannah Lamdin and Laura Godfrey-Isaacs mark Maternal Mental Health Matters Awareness Week with a blog about the Maternal Journal workshops and events they run, to support pregnant women with a history of mental health problems.

[read the full story...]

Perinatal depression in mothers: how can treatment help with parenting and child development?

jenna-norman-292396-unsplash

Eloise Stark publishes her debut blog on a recent systematic review, which looks at the effect that treatment for perinatal depression in mothers can have on parenting and child development.

[read the full story...]

The Origins of Happiness: can we predict life satisfaction?

the-origins-of-happiness

Paul Ramchandani considers the methods, findings and implications of a new book by Andrew E. Clark, Sarah Fleche, Richard Layard, Nattavudh Powdthavee and George Ward, entitled: ‘The Origins of Happiness: The science of well-being over the life course’.

[read the full story...]

Depression in fathers affects children as much as depression in mothers

alex-bocharov-437320

Jennifer Burgess writes her debut elf blog on evidence from two population-based cohorts of the association between depression in fathers and their adolescent children.

[read the full story...]

Over 1 in 10 women have depression during pregnancy or postnatally #HopeNov20

alex-jones-8205

Emma Molyneaux writes her debut blog about a recent systematic review and meta-regression of the prevalence and incidence of perinatal depression.

We are covering the #HopeNov20 event today at parliament to raise awareness of mental health conditions during pregnancy and beyond. Search Twitter for #HopeNov20 from 1-6pm to follow the conversation.

[read the full story...]

Preventing depression in low-income mothers: Head Start RCT in the community

johann-walter-bantz-216960

Tayla McCloud appraises the recent Head Start randomised controlled trial measuring the efficacy of a maternal depression prevention strategy.

[read the full story...]