Every week we review the most recent publications in women’s mental health, covering topics related to premenstrual symptoms, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, use of medications in pregnant and breastfeeding women, perinatal substance use, and menopausal mental health.
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Happy Reading!
Ruta Nonacs, MD PhD
PMS AND PMDD
No articles this week
INFERTILITY AND MENTAL HEALTH
No articles this week
PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS DURING PREGNANCY
Anxiety and Related Disorders During the Perinatal Period.
Anxiety and anxiety-related disorders are, as a group, the most common mental health conditions and are more common among women compared with among men. It is now evident that these disorders affect one in five pregnant and postpartum people and are more common than depression.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih?
The effects of antenatal depression and SSRI exposure on children: A systematic review.
In this updated review of the potential implications of antenatal depression and SSRIs on child development, most observational studies and numerous confounding factors make it difficult to disentangle the effects of SSRIs from the effects of maternal depression, underscoring the need for further research.
MEDICATIONS AND PREGNANCY
Valproic Acid Use Trends, Patterns, and Predictors in Females of Reproductive Age in the United States.
Approximately 1 in 5 VPA prescriptions between 2017 to 2022 were prescribed to females of reproductive age. VPA was most commonly used for the treatment of migraine or other headache syndromes, followed by bipolar disorder and seizure disorder. Only 14.1% of females of reproductive age using VPA were also using contraception. Interventional studies aimed at reducing VPA use in females of reproductive age are needed.
The complicated relationship between GLP-1s and pregnancy.
People who stopped taking weight-loss drugs before or during pregnancy were associated with greater gestational weight gain and had a higher risk of preterm delivery and gestational diabetes compared with those who had not been prescribed the drugs before.
Study links GLP-1 use to some pregnancy risks — but the research has key caveats.
A new study hints that pregnant people who have previously taken drugs like Ozempic may face a higher risk of certain poor pregnancy outcomes. But more studies are needed to understand the finding.
POSTPARTUM PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS
Postpartum Distress Among Women With and Without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
Relative to women without ADHD, women with ADHD reported higher rates of depression, OCD, and stress-related disorders at 6 weeks and 12 months following delivery.
Bupropion for Treatment of Depression and Narcolepsy in a Postpartum Patient.
Bupropion is used less commonly for the treatment of PPD than SSRIs and SNRIs, but maybe be an attractive option for some subgroups of women.psychiatrist+2?
Effectiveness of Peer-Administered Interventions for Perinatal Depression or Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Peer-administered interventions are effective at improving perinatal depression, with peer-delivered psychotherapies being the most effective. Large-scale RCTs are needed to explore long-term effectiveness on perinatal depression and anxiety.psychiatrist+1?
Suicidality in Postpartum Women With Unipolar and Bipolar Depression: A Secondary Analysis Comparing Self-Reported and Clinician Assessments.
The EPDS does not consistently detect suicidality in perinatal bipolar patients, with the current study showing only slight and nonsignificant agreement with clinical assessment in this high-risk group.
Emotion regulation is robustly associated with perinatal depressive symptoms in a Swedish national cohort.
Weinmar, F., Fransson, E., Derntl, B. et al. Nat. Mental Health 3, 1352–1362 (2025).
Emotion regulation difficulties in the second trimester, assessed via the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-16 (DERS-16) were associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy to 14–23?weeks postpartum.
Problems regulating emotions during pregnancy linked with perinatal depression – new research.
Women who reported greater difficulty regulating their emotions in the second trimester experienced higher depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy and up to six months after giving birth.
Postpartum Prescription of GLP-1 Drugs Has Increased Sharply, Study Finds.
Danish researchers discovered that the number of women using weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy soon after childbirth has risen sharply.
MEDICATIONS AND BREASTFEEDING
No articles this week
PERINATAL SUBSTANCE USE
No articles this week
MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH AND CHILD OUTCOMES
No articles this week
MENOPAUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH
Elinzanetant for the Treatment of Vasomotor Symptoms Associated With Menopause: A Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trial.
Panay N, Joffe H, Maki PM, Nappi RE, Pinkerton JV, Simon JA, Soares CN, Thurston RC, Francuski M, Caetano C, Genga K, Haberland C, Haseli Mashhadi N, Laapas K, Parke S, Seitz C, Schwarz J, Zuurman L. JAMA Intern Med. 2025 Nov 1;185(11):1319-1327.
Elinzanetant demonstrates advantages compared to placebo for improving VMS frequency and severity over 50 weeks and sleep disturbances and menopause-related quality of life over 52 weeks. Regarding safety, elinzanetant was not associated with hepatotoxic effects, endometrial hyperplasia, or meaningful changes in bone density or bone turnover markers. Treatment-related adverse events were more common with elinzanetant than placebo (30.4% vs 14.6%); the most frequent were somnolence, fatigue, and headache.
The burden of sleep disturbances on quality of life and mental well-being in nearly 50,000 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with and without concurrent vasomotor symptoms from the United States and Europe.
Soares CN, Briggs P, Dinkel-Keuthage C, Schoof N, Moeller C, Nguyen J, Genga K, Drakeley S, Modi K, Maki PM. Menopause. 2025 Nov 4.
Among perimenopausal women, sleep disturbances were reported by 61.7% (US) and 60.6% (Europe) with VMS, and 38.0% (US) and 40.8% (Europe) without VMS. Among postmenopausal women, sleep disturbances were reported by 66.7% (US) and 63.4% (Europe) with VMS, and 44.5% (US) and 40.9% (Europe) without VMS. Compared with women with neither symptom, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with sleep disturbances had worse HRQoL (P<0.001) and higher (worse) depression and anxiety scores (P<0.05 perimenopausal, P<0.001 postmenopausal) irrespective of VMS.
OTHER TOPICS IN WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH
Americans’ Mental Health Ratings Hit a New Low.
Fewer than one in three U.S. adults now rate their mental health as “excellent,” the lowest level Gallup has recorded.
Moms Say They Are Surviving, Not Thriving. Here Is the Hope in the 2025 State of Motherhood Survey.
Mothers identify factors negatively affecting their wellbeing: significant financial stress, lack of affordable childcare, and deep-seated isolation. Despite these challenges, the report highlights a growing collective strength as mothers clearly name their needs and demand better support from policymakers.
‘Freebirth’ Movement Is Dangerous to Moms but Reflects Real Concerns, Ob/Gyns Say.
Capitalizing on medical distrust, some influencers are selling guides to “freebirths” (medically unassisted births) and “wild pregnancies” (pregnancies without prenatal care).
Amid Confusing CDC Guidance About Vaccines, Study Highlights New Risk of COVID-19 During Pregnancy.
A Harvard study found that the children of women who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant may be at an increased risk for autism and other diagnoses, raising new concerns about the CDC’s decision to stop recommending the vaccine to pregnant women.
