Could partner factors reduce the risk of maternal depression and anxiety in the perinatal period?

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Paul Ramchandani and Ellen Grimas report on the findings of a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of modifiable partner factors associated with perinatal depression and anxiety.

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Antidepressants during pregnancy and risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn

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Meg Fluharty examines the findings of a recent study, which looks at the risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) when mothers take antidepressants during pregnancy.

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Breastfeeding and postpartum depression

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Clinical Psychologist Sarah McDonald writes her debut blog on a recent cohort study of breastfeeding and postpartum depression, which concludes that the effect of breastfeeding on maternal depression is extremely heterogeneous.

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Is depression research asking the right questions? Your chance to get involved

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A new national survey about depression has just launched. It’s organised by an impressive group of partners, who want to improve care, support and treatment for people affected by depression. Depression affects 1 in 10 adults in any year, and can have debilitating consequences. We know that research can improve lives; improve diagnosis, treatments, care and [read the full story…]

Maternal depression may be associated with offspring obesity, according to systematic review

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Maternal depression is a serious mental health condition and does not only affect the mental health of the mother, but also the physical health of her children. One meta-analysis found that up to 19% of women in developed countries experienced an episode of depression in the 3-month prenatal period (Gavin et al., 2005). More specifically, [read the full story…]

Treating antenatal depression could prevent offspring adult depression

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Depression in late adolescence is a major public health concern, not least because it is strongly predictive of persistent, adult depression, which can have a severe effect on socioemotional functioning, education and employment. Increasingly, depression research is turning its attention to the matter of prevention of depression rather than exclusively focusing on treatment options and [read the full story…]

Is ‘natural’ better? Evidence for the efficacy of complementary therapies for antenatal depression

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Can we encourage patients to continue taking complementary and alternative (CAM) treatments for antenatal depression or should we be firmly discouraging them from doing so? We already know from surveys that 11% of primary care patients with anxiety and depression are taking complementary or alternative therapies, which is around the same proportion of people who [read the full story…]

Maternal depression associated with reduced breastfeeding and premature delivery

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We often hear about postnatal depression, a well-recognised depressive episode in mothers occurring after the birth of their baby. However, 54.2% of women suffering from postnatal depression actually developed their depressive symptoms before or during pregnancy  (Burt and Quezada, 2009). Around 10% of pregnant mothers have depression and this number increases each trimester. Women are less likely [read the full story…]