Overview

• An analysis of nearly 1.8 million pregnancies in Sweden from 2003 to 2019 finds fewer new psychiatric diagnoses during pregnancy followed by a rebound after delivery.
• Risk of postpartum depression was about 20% higher during weeks 5–15 compared with the year before pregnancy.
• Psychosis risk rose up to sevenfold in the first 20 weeks after birth, according to the Molecular Psychiatry paper.
• Mothers were less likely to attempt suicide during pregnancy and the postpartum period than fathers, with fathers’ risk dipping in the first 10 weeks then increasing later, the Nature Human Behaviour study reports.
• Researchers report rising maternal mental ill health over the study period, especially before pregnancy, while anxiety, stress-related conditions, and substance use disorders were less frequently diagnosed during and after pregnancy.