Rumination and postnatal depression: a systematic review and cognitive model

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Jill Domoney publishes her debut Mental Ef blog on a recent systematic review focusing on the perinatal period, which includes a new cognitive model of rumination and postnatal depression.

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Perinatal mental health difficulties: does the internet have the answer?

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Jane Iles summarises a recent systematic review of digital interventions for perinatal mental health, which highlights a mixed bag of heterogeneous studies in this field.

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Postnatal depression: is it a unique mental health difficulty, or part of a trajectory of depression across the life-span?

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Jane Iles appraises a 20-year prospective cohort study of postnatal depression, which follows women from adolescence, to young adulthood and on to motherhood. The research presents some compelling data about the risk of perinatal mental health difficulties in new mothers.

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Antidepressants for depression: new BAP guidance

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Helge Hasselmann summarises the recently published evidence-based guidance on antidepressants for depression published by the British Association for Psychopharmacology.

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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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Sleep disruption during and after pregnancy may be associated with postpartum mental illness

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Susie Johnson summarises a systematic review that explores the relationship between sleep disruption and postpartum mental illness, which reports a link between self-reported poor sleep during and after pregnancy and the development of postpartum depression.

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CBT for treating and preventing perinatal depression

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Sarah McDonald appraises a systematic review of CBT for treating and preventing perinatal depression. The meta-analysis finds that, when compared to control conditions, CBT resulted in significant reductions in depressive symptoms in both treatment and prevention studies.

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Do perinatal mental health problems cost the UK £8 billion per year?

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A recent report estimated the societal cost of perinatal mental health problems to be £8 billion, but should we believe it? Chris Sampson advises caution.

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Peer support for perinatal mental illness: what makes a peer?

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Lucy Simons reports on a meta-ethnography that explores what facilitates peer support for perinatal mental illness. Her key finding from appraising the review is that women who experience perinatal mental illness need support from the right sort of peer (i.e. women who have had mental distress in the context of motherhood) to make the relationship beneficial and to aid recovery.

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