ArticleMaternal and child health journal2012
Preconception mental health predicts pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes: a national population-based study.
Article in Maternal and child health journal, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 110 citations in OpenAlex.
- Birth outcomes for women with pre-existing mental health problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Preconception and periconception interventions to prevent low birth weight, small for gestational age and preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Trial
- Residential proximity to oil and gas development and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus.International journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Midwest Racial and Mental Health Disparities in Pregnancy Outcomes Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Preconception mental health and developmental vulnerability at school entry: population-based cohort study.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- Post-traumatic stress disorder and adverse pregnancy outcomes: sexual orientation disparities in a prospective cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Global burden of diseases attributed to mental and substance use disorders in reproductive-age women: an ecological analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Preconception health risk profiles among women planning pregnancy in northern Ethiopia: a latent class analysis.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Global, regional, and national burden and trends of mental disorders in women of childbearing age: a systematic analysis based on the global burden of disease study 2021.Annals of medicine · 2025Article
- Preconception and Prenatal Medicaid Coverage for Medicaid-Insured Births.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2025Article
- Impact of mental health distress on preconception health.Intelligent hospital · 2025Article
- Can early prenatal care initiation reduce racial inequalities in birth outcomes? A causal decomposition approach.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Article
- Residential Proximity to Oil and Gas Development and Mental Health in a North American Preconception Cohort Study: 2013-2023.American journal of public health · 2024Article
- Mental Illness in the 2 Years Prior to Pregnancy in a Population With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cross-Sectional Study: La maladie mentale dans les deux ans précédant une grossesse dans une population souffrant de lésion cérébrale traumatique : une étude transversale.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2024Article
- Preconception Health of Indigenous Peoples in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Structural racism and health: Assessing the mediating role of community mental distress and health care access in the association between mass incarceration and adverse birth outcomes.SSM - population health · 2023Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Pregnancy complications and poor birth outcomes can affect the survival and long-term health of children. The preconception period represents an opportunity to intervene and improve outcomes; however little is known about women's mental health prior to pregnancy as a predictor of such outcomes. We sought to determine if and to what extent women's preconception mental health status impacted subsequent pregnancy complications, non-live birth, and birth weight using a nationally representative, population-based sample. We used pooled 1996-2006 data from the nationally-representative Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Poor preconception mental health was defined as women's global mental health rating of "fair" or "poor" before conception. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between preconception mental health and pregnancy complications, non-live birth, and having a low birth weight baby within the follow up period. Poor preconception mental health was associated with increased odds of experiencing any pregnancy complication (AOR 1.40, 95% CI: 1.02-1.92), having a non-live birth (AOR 1.48, 95% CI: 0.96-2.27), and having a low birth weight baby (AOR 1.99, 95% CI: 1.00-3.98), all controlling for maternal age, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, health insurance status, income, and number of children in the household. Significant racial and ethnic disparities exist for pregnancy complications and non-live births, but not for low birth weight. Women's preconception mental health is a modifiable risk factor that stands to reduce the incidence of adverse pregnancy complications and birth outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.