Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jan-Dec:15:1745506519844044.
doi: 10.1177/1745506519844044.

Consequences of maternal postpartum depression: A systematic review of maternal and infant outcomes

Justine Slomian  1 , Germain Honvo  1 , Patrick Emonts  2 , Jean-Yves Reginster  1 , Olivier Bruyère  1   3
Affiliations

Consequences of maternal postpartum depression: A systematic review of maternal and infant outcomes

Justine Slomian et al. Womens Health (Lond). 2019 Jan-Dec.

Erratum in

  • Erratum.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Womens Health (Lond). 2019 Jan-Dec;15:1745506519854864. doi: 10.1177/1745506519854864. Womens Health (Lond). 2019. PMID: 31144603 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Introduction: The postpartum period represents the time of risk for the emergence of maternal postpartum depression. There are no systematic reviews of the overall maternal outcomes of maternal postpartum depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate both the infant and the maternal consequences of untreated maternal postpartum depression.

Methods: We searched for studies published between 1 January 2005 and 17 August 2016, using the following databases: MEDLINE via Ovid, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials registry.

Results: A total of 122 studies (out of 3712 references retrieved from bibliographic databases) were included in this systematic review. The results of the studies were synthetized into three categories: (a) the maternal consequences of postpartum depression, including physical health, psychological health, relationship, and risky behaviors; (b) the infant consequences of postpartum depression, including anthropometry, physical health, sleep, and motor, cognitive, language, emotional, social, and behavioral development; and (c) mother-child interactions, including bonding, breastfeeding, and the maternal role.

Discussion: The results suggest that postpartum depression creates an environment that is not conducive to the personal development of mothers or the optimal development of a child. It therefore seems important to detect and treat depression during the postnatal period as early as possible to avoid harmful consequences.

Keywords: infant outcomes; maternal outcomes; maternal postpartum depression; mother–infant interactions; systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart of the selection of relevant literature.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Cristescu T, Behrman S, Jones SV, et al. Be vigilant for perinatal mental health problems. Practitioner 2015; 259(1780): 19–232. - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994.
    1. O’Hara MW, Wisner KL. Perinatal mental illness: definition, description and aetiology. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 2014; 28(1): 3–12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cox JL, Holden JM, Sagovsky R. Detection of postnatal depression. Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Br J Psychiatry 1987; 150: 782–786. - PubMed
    1. Pearlstein T, Howard M, Salisbury A, et al. Postpartum depression. Am J Obstetr Gynecol 2009; 200(4): 357–364. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types