SynthesisArchives of women's mental health2015
The role of body image in prenatal and postpartum depression: a critical review of the literature.
Synthesis in Archives of women's mental health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 192 citations in OpenAlex.
- Postpartum Women's Body Dissatisfaction: A Systematic Review of Theoretical Models and Regression Analyses.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Comparing body image dissatisfaction between pregnant women and non-pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness of digital psychological interventions in reducing perinatal depression: a systematic review of meta-analyses.Archives of women's mental health · 2023Pooled it
- Pregorexia: a systematic review and meta-analysis on the constructs of body image dissatisfaction and eating disturbances by gestational age in the peripartum.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2023Pooled it
- Global burden of antenatal depression and its association with adverse birth outcomes: an umbrella review.BMC public health · 2020Pooled it
- Weight and body image during pregnancy: a qualitative study of the experience of pregnant women, midwives and dietitians.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- Postpartum Body Concerns, Self-Criticism, and Psychological Distress: A Parallel Mediation Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- A scoping review of eating disorder symptoms and mental health during the postpartum period: predictors, course, and consequences for mothers and infants.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Review
- Article
- Determinants of the Development of Depression in Women During the Postpartum Period.Florence Nightingale journal of nursing · 2026Article
- Quality of life in the postpartum period of Mexican women living with HIV: The role of clinical and sociodemographic factors.PloS one · 2026Observational
- Subjective Health Perception Moderates the Antidepressant Effects of Home-Based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Perinatal Women: A Real-World Observational Study.Psychiatry investigation · 2026Article
- Article
- Prenatal Body Image: Association with Disordered Eating Behaviors and Depressive Symptoms Across Pregnancy.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2025Article
- Development and Initial Validation of a Measure of Body Image in the Postpartum Period: The Postpartum Body Image Scale.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Role of Social Media Usage in the Impact of Body Image on Disordered Eating Attitudes During the Third Trimester of Pregnancy.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2025Article
- Romantic Relationship Quality and Eating Disorder Symptoms in Late Pregnancy: The Serial Mediating Role of Depression and Body Dissatisfaction.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Body image: a cross-sectional study of the perception and practices of women after delivery.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Self-efficacy as a moderator in the relationship between body image and health behaviors in pregnant women.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The role of bodily experiences during pregnancy on mother and infant outcomes.Journal of neuropsychology · 2025Article
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
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Maternal depression increases risk of adverse perinatal outcomes, and recent evidence suggests that body image may play an important role in depression. This systematic review identifies studies of body image and perinatal depression with the goal of elucidating the complex role that body image plays in prenatal and postpartum depression, improving measurement, and informing next steps in research. We conducted a literature search of the PubMed database (1996-2014) for English language studies of (1) depression, (2) body image, and (3) pregnancy or postpartum. In total, 19 studies matched these criteria. Cross-sectional studies consistently found a positive association between body image dissatisfaction and perinatal depression. Prospective cohort studies found that body image dissatisfaction predicted incident prenatal and postpartum depression; findings were consistent across different aspects of body image and various pregnancy and postpartum time periods. Prospective studies that examined the reverse association found that depression influenced the onset of some aspects of body image dissatisfaction during pregnancy, but few evaluated the postpartum onset of body image dissatisfaction. The majority of studies found that body image dissatisfaction is consistently but weakly associated with the onset of prenatal and postpartum depression. Findings were less consistent for the association between perinatal depression and subsequent body image dissatisfaction. While published studies provide a foundation for understanding these issues, methodologically rigorous studies that capture the perinatal variation in depression and body image via instruments validated in pregnant women, consistently adjust for important confounders, and include ethnically diverse populations will further elucidate this association.
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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.