ArticleArchives of women's mental health2019
Brain plasticity in pregnancy and the postpartum period: links to maternal caregiving and mental health.
Article in Archives of women's mental health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06160037 (Influence of Prenatal and Early Childhood Home-Visiting by Nurses on Development of Chronic Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 112 papers, 6 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
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.
Influence of Prenatal and Early Childhood Home-Visiting by Nurses on Development of Chronic Disease: 29-year Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial
Who cites it
112 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 227 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of perinatal depression and anxiety on memory, attention, and cognitive flexibility: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Pooled it
- Neural correlates of peripartum depression: a systematic review, meta-analysis and comparison to major depressive disorder.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- The impact of severe mental disorders on mother-infant interaction: a systematic review.Archives of women's mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of Exercise Dose-Response on Maternal Mental Health and Perinatal Depression Prevention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of public health · 2025Pooled it
- Olfaction in pregnancy: systematic review and meta-analysis.Chemical senses · 2022Pooled it
- Associations between maternal birth complications and postpartum depressive symptoms: A systematic narrative review and meta-analysis.Women's health (London, England)Pooled it
- "I'm not alone": perinatal women's experiences in an online self-directed program for perinatal anxiety.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Trial
- Internet-based interdisciplinary therapeutic group (Grupo Interdisciplinar Online, GIO) for perinatal anxiety and depression-a randomized pilot study during COVID-19.Archives of women's mental health · 2024Trial
- Examining early structural and functional brain alterations in postpartum depression through multimodal neuroimaging.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Examining dynamic changes in prefrontal connectivity and internalizing symptoms during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Maternal Neuroplasticity: Understanding Brain Changes with Perinatal Depression and Anxiety in Women.Current psychiatry reports · 2026Review
- Integrated proteomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic profiling identifies SRA1 as a novel therapeutic target for postpartum depression.Npj mental health research · 2026Article
- Beyond 'Baby Brain': Memory and Sleep Health During Pregnancy-A Biopsychosocial Perspective.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Psychosocial Factors Associated with a Positive Antenatal Depression Screen: A Cross-Sectional Study of Perception of Motherhood, Attachment Style, Emotional History and Sleep Problems.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Triple Network Neuroplasticity and Perinatal Mood Symptoms from Preconception to Postpartum: A Pilot Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Photobiomodulation for Pain, Healing, and Analgesic Use after Perineal Lacerations: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.International urogynecology journal · 2026Article
- Maternal depression symptoms as a context for longitudinal changes in the perinatal brain and infant emotion outcomes.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Influences of adverse childhood experiences and weekly pregnancy stress on postpartum mental health symptoms: a machine learning examination.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Mothers' perceptions of bonding with their newborns in different care settings: a descriptive qualitative study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- The Early Emotional Bond: An Evolutionary-Developmental Perspective Integrating Psychoanalysis, Neuroscience, and Cross-Cultural Evidence.Brain sciences · 2026Review
52 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 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Pregnancy and the postpartum period involve numerous physiological adaptations that enable the development and survival of the offspring. A distinct neural plasticity characterizes the female brain during this period, and dynamic structural and functional changes take place that accompany fundamental behavioral adaptations, stimulating the female to progress from an individual with self-directed needs to being responsible for the care of another life. While many animal studies detail these modifications, an emerging body of research reveals the existence of reproduction-related brain plasticity in human mothers too. Additionally, associations with aspects of maternal caregiving point to adaptive changes that benefit a woman's transition to motherhood. However, the dynamic changes that affect a woman's brain are not merely adaptive, and they likely confer a vulnerability for the development of mental disorders. Here, we review the changes in brain structure and function that a woman undergoes during the peripartum period, outlining associations between these neural alterations and different aspects of maternal care. We additionally discuss peripartum mood disorders and postpartum psychosis, and review the neuroimaging studies that investigate the neural bases of these conditions.
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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.