Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are associated with longer term cardiovascular risk. Understanding if depression or antidepressant use in pregnancy is associated with HDP is important in identifying those potentially vulnerable to poorer health in later life. This study examines if depression and antidepressants are associated with HDP.To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
"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."
The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the experience of grief felt by fathers when facing perinatal loss. A father’s grief and loss are frequently unrecognized and underappreciated by healthcare professionals who customarily attend only to the needs of mothers. Open access article- no login needed
Suicide is a leading cause of maternal mortality. Suicidality during and around the time of pregnancy can have detrimental impacts on a child’s development and outcomes. This paper examines prevalence, demographic characteristics, and timing of initial contact with first responders and health services for a cohort of women who experienced suicidality during and around the time of pregnancy in Queensland, Australia. To read the full article, where necessary, choose “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”. .
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”.
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.
The results of the review suggest that psychosocial interventions targeting adolescents in the perinatal period hold some promise for promoting positive mental health and improving school attendance.
Uncertainty surrounds the risks of lithium use during pregnancy in women with bipolar disorder. The authors sought to provide a critical appraisal of the evidence related to the efficacy and safety of lithium treatment during the peripartum period, focusing on women with bipolar disorder and their offspring.. Login at top right hand side of page using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens for full text.
Health visitors (HVs) help new mothers to cope with mental health problems through support such as ‘listening visits’, but more attention should be paid to how such support can be improved, a survey suggests. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Life after loss is an economic evaluation of the baby loss charity Petals, which provides counselling to women who have experienced the death of a baby and their partners. The evaluation calculates that national provision of counselling to 4,822 mothers would cost £3.17m per annum, which would create a national safety-net of support to help parents at this immensely difficult time. No such service currently operates across England and Wales.
The report highlights that specialist baby loss counselling is inexpensive, effective and reduces government expenditure. This is a rare instance where fiscal prudence and compassion converge.
Open access. Although evidence suggests that the EuroQoL-5 dimension (EQ-5D) and Short Form-6 dimension (SF-6D) have equivalent psychometric properties in people with depression, there is some evidence that the EQ-5D may lack responsiveness in certain populations with depression.
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.
The aim of this study was to determine the association between antidepressant (AD) classes, types and duration of use during pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Open Access Article
To synthesize research findings regarding the coping experiences of parents following perinatal loss.. 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.
Implications for practice and research:
> Men’s resilience towards the transition to fatherhood should be assessed as part of prenatal preparation for couples expecting their first baby.
> Research on psychological management of postdelivery stress for families of new babies should include interventions on adjustment strategies. 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.
Postpartum psychosis is one of the severest psychiatric disorders to occur in the postpartum period. If it requires a woman's admission, a psychiatric mother baby unit is recommended, where care will focus on the mother's health, the mother‐baby dyad, and their next of kin. To date, few studies have examined nursing interventions for patients with postpartum psychosis.. 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.