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.
For more detailed descriptions of many of these topics, you can sign up to receive our weekly CWMH NEWSLETTER which comes out every Thursday.
Ruta Nonacs, MD PhD
PMS AND PMDD |
| Suicide Risk Higher for Women With Premenstrual Disorders |
| Mortality Risk Among Women With Premenstrual Disorders in Sweden
women with PMDs are not at increased risk of early death overall. However, the risk was elevated among young women and for death by suicide.
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INFERTILITY AND MENTAL HEALTH |
| No articles this week |
PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS DURING PREGNANCY |
| Air Pollution Ups Gestational Hypertension, Mostly in Prenatal Depression Cases |
| Effect of Brief Interpersonal Therapy on Depression During Pregnancy
Brief IPT significantly reduced prenatal depression symptoms and MDD compared with enhanced usual care among pregnant individuals from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds recruited from primary OB/GYN clinics.
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MEDICATIONS AND PREGNANCY |
| Investigating maternal and neonatal health outcomes associated with continuing or ceasing dexamphetamine treatment for women with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder during pregnancy: a retrospective cohort study – Archives of Women’s Mental Health
Continuing dexamphetamine throughout pregnancy was not associated with an increase in adverse neonatal and maternal health outcomes compared to stopping. Discontinuing dexamphetamine during pregnancy was associated with increased odds of threatened abortion compared with continuing dexamphetamine.
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| Prenatal Exposure to Valproic Acid Remains Unchanged, Despite FDA Safety Updates |
POSTPARTUM PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS |
| The criminalization of women with postpartum psychosis: “a call for action” for judicial change – PubMed
The lack of a unique diagnostic classification in the DSM for postpartum psychosis and the lack of postpartum criminal laws, result in mentally ill mothers in the U.S. receiving excessively harsh sentences when prosecuted.
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| Preventing postnatal depression in new mothers using telephone peer support: protocol for the DAISY (Depression and AnxIety peer Support studY) multi-centre randomised controlled trial – PubMed
This intervention provides proactive telephone-based support from a peer volunteer for 6 months after delivery, in addition to standard community services.
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| Perceived pressure to breastfeed negatively impacts postpartum mental health outcomes over time – PubMed
Perceived pressure to breastfeed was associated with increased anxiety, stress and birth trauma symptoms four weeks later.
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| Severe Maternal Morbidity and Maternal Mental Health Hospitalizations or ED Visits
Severe maternal morbidity was associated with a 1.3-fold increased rate of hospitalization or ED visit for a mental health condition up to 13 years postpartum.
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| Opinion | We Screen Postpartum Women for Depression. But What About PTSD? |
| Impact of Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex on Mental Health – PubMed
Associated symptoms included tension (48%), exhaustion (43%), intolerance (41%), hypersensitivity (35%), and restlessness (33%). Symptoms reported to begin within the first month of breastfeeding in 59% of D-MER cases.
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| Effectiveness of a web-enabled psychoeducational resource for postpartum depression and anxiety among women in British Columbia – PubMed
Postpartum depression and anxiety symptoms were significantly reduced for the intervention group only after four weeks, with improvements maintained after a two-week follow-up, corresponding with small-to-medium effect sizes.
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| Economic evaluation of Be a Mom, a web-based intervention to prevent postpartum depression in high-risk women alongside a randomized controlled trial – PubMed
This study evaluated the cost-utility of Be a Mom, a self-guided iCBT intervention, compared with a waiting-list control among postpartum women at high risk of PPD.
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| Harnessing Consumer Wearable Digital Biomarkers for Individualized Recognition of Postpartum Depression Using the All of Us Research Program Data Set: Cross-Sectional Study – PubMed
This research establishes consumer wearables as a promising tool for PPD identification and highlights personalized machine learning approaches, which could facilitate early detection of postpartum depression.
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MEDICATIONS AND BREASTFEEDING |
| No articles this week |
PERINATAL SUBSTANCE USE |
| Reporting Perinatal Substance Use to Child Protective Services: Obstetric Provider Perspectives on the Impact on Care – PubMed
Mandated reporting requirements and the potential for CPS involvement are perceived to have minimal positive effects on perinatal individuals with OUD and may negatively affect patients and their care.
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MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH AND CHILD OUTCOMES |
| The effect of prenatal maternal distress on offspring brain development: A systematic review – PubMed
Although the studies varied greatly in their methodology, the results generally pointed to structural and functional aberrations in the limbic system, prefrontal cortex, and insula in fetuses and infants prenatally exposed to maternal distress.
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MENOPAUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH |
| Higher Optimism Tied to Healthier Postmenopausal Functioning in Older Women |
OTHER TOPICS IN WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH |
| Autism Heritability Differs Between Men and Women |
