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
Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Perinatal Mood, Anxiety, and Related Disorders.
Vigod SN, Frey BN, Clark CT, Grigoriadis S, Barker LC, Brown HK, Charlebois J, Dennis CL, Fairbrother N, Green SM, Letourneau NL, Oberlander TF, Sharma V, Singla DR, Stewart DE, Tomasi P, Ellington BD, Fleury C, Tarasoff LA, Tomfohr-Madsen LM, Da Costa D, Beaulieu S, Brietzke E, Kennedy SH, Lam RW, Milev RV, Parikh SV, Ravindran AV, Samaan Z, Schaffer A, Taylor VH, Tourjman SV, Ameringen MV, Yatham LN, Van Lieshout RJ. Can J Psychiatry. 2025 Jun;70(6):429-489.
This guideline provides detailed evidence-based recommendations to support clinicians in delivering safe and effective perinatal mental healthcare.
Antipsychotic continuation during pregnancy and risk of postpartum relapse in women with schizophrenia: nationwide register-based study.
Kang S, Yang JS, Yun BH, Gelaye B, An SK, Jung SJ. Br J Psychiatry. 2025 Jan 10:1-8.
Continuation of antipsychotic treatment during pregnancy was associated with reduced risk of postpartum relapse in women with schizophrenia.
Neural emotion regulation during pregnancy: An fMRI study investigating a transdiagnostic mental health factor in healthy first-time pregnant women.
Weinmar F, Kogler L, Rehbein E, Morawetz C, Sundström-Poromaa I, Skalkidou A, Derntl B. Imaging Neurosci (Camb). 2025 Apr 9;3:imag_a_00529.
Elevated depression scores in pregnancy were linked to heightened amygdala activity, suggesting a neural risk marker for peripartum mental health difficulties.
MEDICATIONS AND PREGNANCY
No articles this week
POSTPARTUM PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS
The lived experience of postpartum depression and psychosis in women: a bottom-up review co-written by experts by experience and academics.
Fusar-Poli P, Estradé A, Mathi K, Mabia C, Yanayirah N, Floris V, Figazzolo E, Esposito CM, Mancini M, Rosfort R, Catalan A, Baldwin H, Patel R, Stanghellini G, Ratcliffe M, Maj M. World Psychiatry. 2025 Feb;24(1):32-45.
Women’s first-person accounts of postpartum depression and psychosis highlight diverse lived experiences, stigma, and barriers to accessing care.
A systematic review of postpartum psychosis resulting in infanticide: missed opportunities in screening, diagnosis, and treatment.
Alford AY, Riggins AD, Chopak-Foss J, Cowan LT, Nwaonumah EC, Oloyede TF, Sejoro ST, Kutten WS. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2025 Apr;28(2):297-308.
Review identified lack of standardized screening, cultural barriers, and missed opportunities in clinical care for mothers with psychotic symptoms leading to infanticide.
Predictors of mother-infant interaction quality in women at risk of postpartum psychosis: The role of emotion recognition.
Biaggi A, Hazelgrove K, Waites F, Bind RH, Lawrence AJ, Fuste M, Conroy S, Howard LM, Mehta MA, Miele M, Seneviratne G, Pawlby S, Pariante CM, Dazzan P. J Affect Disord. 2024 Dec 15;367:562-572.
Deficits in emotion recognition predicted poorer mother-infant interaction in women at risk for postpartum psychosis, suggesting possible preventive intervention targets.
Neuropsychological performance in women at risk of postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.
Cattarinussi G, Segre G, Biaggi A, Hazelgrove K, Sambataro F, Russo M, Lawrence A, Fusté M, Mehta MA, Seneviratne G, Craig MC, Miele M, Pawlby S, Conroy S, Pariante CM, Dazzan P. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2025 Feb;28(1):55-65.
Women at risk of postpartum psychosis exhibited worse executive function and processing speed than both healthy controls and women at risk for postpartum depression.
The criminalization of women with postpartum psychosis: “a call for action” for judicial change.
Feingold SB, Lewis BM. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2025 Jun;28(3):455-461.
The absence of specific diagnostic and legal frameworks has led to harsh sentencing for mothers with postpartum psychosis in the U.S.
Nonpharmacological interventions for childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder and accompanying symptoms: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Wen MJ, Li JH, Peng ZF, Chen G, Li JL, Cheng L, Li JY, Zhang TT, Nie XF. Int J Nurs Stud. 2025 Aug 9;171:105186.
This network meta-analysis of 42 RCTs outlines prevention and treatment options for CB-PTSD at primary, secondary, and tertiary care levels.
Pregnancy and birth complications and long-term maternal mental health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Bodunde EO, Buckley D, O’Neill E, Al Khalaf S, Maher GM, O’Connor K, McCarthy FP, Kublickiene K, Matvienko-Sikar K, Khashan AS. BJOG. 2025 Jan;132(2):131-142.
Termination, miscarriage, and preterm birth were consistently linked to elevated risks of maternal depression, anxiety, and PTSD in long-term follow-up.
Screening for postpartum depression at well child visits: evaluating the impact of Michigan’s statewide initiative.
Currie J, Malinovskaya A. Health Econ Rev. 2025 Aug 26;15(1):72.
The initiative increased postpartum depression screening at child visits, but overall rates remained low (8.8%), with limited impact on treatment rates.
A brief international screening tool for traumatic birth and childbirth-related PTSD: the City BiTS-short form.
Ayers S, Brooks Wright D, Caparros-Gonzalez RA, Ciuffo G, Constantinou G, Dikmen-Yildiz P, Garthus-Niegel S, Grundström H, Handelzalts J, Horsch A, Ionio C, Naki? Radoš S, Osório FL, Rattaz V, Riklikiene O, Seefeld L, Sigurðardóttir VL, Webb R; INTERSECT Consortium. BMJ Glob Health. 2025 Aug 17;10(8):e01921.
The City BiTS-short provides a brief validated tool for identifying childbirth-related PTSD across diverse cultural settings.
Unplanned pregnancy and perinatal depression: secondary exploratory analyses from a racially and ethnically diverse, low-income U.S. sample.
Czech KA, Hamil J, Taple BJ, Ciolino JD, Kan A, Letkiewicz AM, Diebold A, Tandon SD. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2025 Aug 21;25(1):870.
Among Latine birthing people, unplanned pregnancy was associated with higher depressive symptoms prenatally and postpartum.
Behavioral Activation for Perinatal Suicide Ideation: Secondary Analysis of a Noninferiority Randomized Clinical Trial.
Kaliush PR, Molina NC, Berenbaum TS, Dennis CL, Gaynes BN, Meltzer-Brody S, Reyes-Rodríguez ML, Silver RK, Stuebe AM, Vigod SN, Schiller CE, Singla DR. JAMA Psychiatry. 2025 Aug 20.
Behavioral activation significantly reduced suicidal ideation, with risk decreasing by 25% per session and by 80% at three months post-treatment.
MEDICATIONS AND BREASTFEEDING
No articles this week
PERINATAL SUBSTANCE USE
Adverse childhood experiences, resilience, and cannabis use in early motherhood.
Roland A, Charron E, Shreffler KM. Front Psychiatry. 2025 Aug 7;16:1621161.
Resilience reduced cannabis use risk among new mothers with low-to-moderate adverse childhood experience (ACE) exposure, but protection diminished at higher ACE levels.
Maternal smoking and alcohol use in association with breastfeeding initiation, duration, and infant health – a scoping review.
Nakijoba R, Isabella K, Kiguba R, Waitt C, Atuyambe LM. Womens Health (Lond). 2025 Jan-Dec;21:17455057251352297.
Maternal smoking during pregnancy was linked to shorter breastfeeding duration, higher rates of childhood overweight, and adverse offspring mental health outcomes.
MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH AND CHILD OUTCOMES
The impact of severe mental disorders on mother-infant interaction: a systematic review.
Vilaseca B, Roca-Lecumberri A, García-Gibert C, Forte F, Torres-Giménez A, Solé E, Andrés-Perpiñá S, Barajas A, Gelabert E. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2025 Feb 6.
Mothers with psychotic or bipolar disorders showed the most impaired mother-infant interactions, with deficits particularly pronounced in psychotic disorders.
Are maternal and paternal bonding problems associated with child sleep problems at 8 and 24 months?
Rusanen E, Flykt M, Kylliäinen A, Saarenpää-Heikkilä O, Paavonen EJ. Infant Behav Dev. 2025 Aug 12;80:102123.
Maternal bonding problems mediated the effects of maternal depression on child sleep outcomes at both 8 and 24 months.
MENOPAUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH
No articles this week
OTHER TOPICS IN WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH
No articles this week
