Healthcare professionals need increased awareness and knowledge of the risk of perinatal mental illnesses among migrant women, and mental health should be routinely discussed in maternity and other healthcare services that serve women who are migrants.
Mother and father depression symptoms often co-occur, and together can have a substantial impact on child emotional well-being. Little is understood about symptom-level mechanisms underlying the co-occurrence of depression symptoms within families. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This paper reports on insights from an evaluation of Birth Companions (BC) (a UK-based charity) perinatal support in two prison settings in England. The initiative involved the provision of group and/or one-to-one perinatal support and training women prisoners as peer supporters. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
"while grief is a natural reaction to experiencing loss, symptoms of depression and anxiety may be mitigated by improved community support. Overcoming the taboo and encouraging open conversations about loss can reduce isolation and allow families to acknowledge the impact. This can reduce stigma or shame, enhance peer support from others with similar experiences, and provide a language to talk about what’s happened to process the experience. This type of support is currently being offered by organisations such as SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death) and the Miscarriage Association. Widening this support to include health services and other community contexts may further improve outcomes for families and reduce the likelihood of developing mental health difficulties."
This descriptive study aimed to present the characteristics and needs of refugee women who attended a psychosocial walk-in clinic addressing pregnant refugees’ and new mothers’ maternity mental healthcare needs in a state registration and reception centre in Germany. To read the full article, choose “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Besides the moderation analyses, the study provides further evidence for the association of prenatal stress and children’s subsequent psychopathological symptoms. It therefore emphasises the need for early supportive interventions aimed at mothers who report a high burden of prenatal stressors. The reduction of modifiable prenatal stressors (e.g. lack of social support, work stress, burden of internalising symptoms, substance consumption) would likely have long-lasting positive effects on children’s mental health and might be feasible within the scope of interventions targeting mothers’ well-being. Such interventions could include support groups for pregnant mothers or short-team (maybe even group- or internet-based) cognitive behavioural interventions.
open access. Parents are vulnerable to psychological distress symptoms in the postpartum period. It is routine to screen for depressive symptoms, but anxiety, stress, fatigue, irritability and insomnia symptoms are less often assessed despite their prevalence. This study aimed to assess multiple dimensions of psychological distress, and their reliable change and clinically significant change among women admitted to a residential program for assistance with unsettled infant behaviors (UIB).
To examine public health nurses’ education, training and professional support needs in perinatal mental health.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
Open access. Parenthood is a life transition that can be especially demanding for vulnerable individuals. Young maternal age and maternal single status have been reported to increase the risk for adverse outcomes for both mother and child. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of young maternal age and maternal single status on maternal and child mental health and child development at age 3.
Previous studies suggest that prenatal immune challenges may elevate the risk of schizophrenia and related psychoses in offspring, yet there has been limited research focused on maternal bacterial infection. The authors hypothesized that maternal bacterial infection during pregnancy increases offspring risk of psychotic disorders in adulthood, and that the magnitude of this association varies as a function of severity of infectious exposure and offspring sex.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Circadian rhythms are altered in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as showed by changes in circadian patterns of gene expression in the human brain of subjects affected by MDD (1). Circadian rhythms are produced centrally by clock genes and some single nucleotide polymorphisms located in clock genes have been associated with vulnerability to MDD (2). Similarly, one study suggests that clock gene expression in tissues related to pregnancy is altered in mice during pregnancy, although this has not been tested yet in humans (3). No data have been published thus far regarding the expression of clock genes during perinatal depression, while history of depression has been found to be associated with the increased expression of gene CLOCK that would be responsible for an anticipation of the sleep waking rhythms and of late insomnia typical in MDD.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
Objective To examine the influence of prenatal exercise on depression and anxiety during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Summary/Conclusions Prenatal exercise reduced the odds and severity of prenatal depression. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
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This study recommends the top 4 websites on perinatal anxiety for health care professionals and users. There is a need for websites to be developed that provide accurate, evidence-based information that women can relate to with quality support resources. Furthermore, these sites should be easy to use and readable
Implications for practice and research:
>Healthcare professionals should provide person-centred care to postpartum women with severe mental illness (SMI), promoting their autonomy and the best outcomes for the woman and the child.
>Stigma and negative attitudes towards individuals with SMI can have a detrimental effect on patient care.
>Future research should evaluate interventions that decrease stigma in healthcare professionals caring for women with SMI. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.