SynthesisBMC psychiatry2021
Adverse childhood experiences and maternal anxiety and depression: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 92 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
92 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Effectiveness of a home-based, post-discharge early intervention program for very preterm infants in reducing parental stress: a randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2024Trial
- Personalized Mobile Health-Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Maternal Distress: Examining the Moderating Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences.The Permanente journal · 2024Trial
- Sequelae of child maltreatment: Umbrella synthesis of 148 meta-analyses on the mental health correlates.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Risk and protective factors for consistent family routines among caregivers with preschool-age children.Child abuse & neglect · 2026Article
- Mapping links between childhood maltreatment and biopsychosocial health in pregnancy: a network analysis.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- War-Related Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms During the First Two Postpartum Years: The Moderating Role of Childhood Adversity.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2026Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences, Pregnancy and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms, and Child Socioemotional Problems Over the First Three Years of Life.Child maltreatment · 2026Article
- 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
- Resilience in the early postpartum period: Buffering the impact of maternal ACEs on infant socioemotional development.Infant mental health journal · 2026Article
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations for anti-racist, equity-focused NICU family mental health.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Review
- The Moderating Role of Social and Emotional Support in the Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental Health Across Racial Groups: the Need for Investing in Social Capital.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Trauma-Informed Care in a Primary Maternity Care Clinic: Quality Improvement Study of Patient and Physician Perspectives.The Permanente journal · 2026Article
- Expanded adverse childhood experiences and postpartum mental health among an under-resourced sample of Spanish- and English-speaking mothers referred for community-based mental health services during pregnancy.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Adverse childhood experiences, intimate partner violence, and postpartum depressive symptoms in a pregnancy cohort in Central Vietnam.SSM. Mental health · 2026Article
- Association of Substance Use and Psychological Conditions With Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: A Propensity-Matched Analysis.JACC. Advances · 2026Article
- Associations between maternal adverse childhood experiences and children's physical health conditions: A longitudinal study.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 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
- Childhood adversity, benevolent experiences, and perceived stress among pregnant women in Mexico: psychosocial determinants of maternal well-being in a middle-income setting.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Observational
- Maternal adverse childhood experiences, postnatal depression, and early parenting behaviors: a study of microcoded mother-infant interaction in early infancy.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
32 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
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt has been proposed that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can put women at risk for mental illness in the pregnancy and postpartum periods. While some studies have found strong support for this proposition, others have found weak or no support. This study is a meta-analysis of the association between ACEs and maternal mental health to resolve between-study discrepancies, and to examine potential moderators of associations.
methodsThree electronic databases (i.e., MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO) were searched up to November 2018 by a health sciences librarian. A hand search was conducted in January 2020 and relevant studies were added. Included studies reported on associations between ACEs and maternal depression and/or anxiety in the perinatal period (pregnancy to 1-year postpartum). Pregnancy and postpartum outcomes were examined separately for both depression and anxiety. Random-effect meta-analyses were conducted. Moderator analyses were conducted using meta-regression. Study quality was evaluated using a 15-point scale.
resultsThe initial search yielded 4646 non-duplicate records and full text review occurred for 196 articles. A total of 15 studies (N = 7788) were included in the meta-analyses, of which 2 were also described narratively. Publication year ranged from 1998 to 2019. Mothers were approximately 28.93 years of age when they retrospectively reported on their ACEs. All studies had maternal self-report questionnaires for the mental health outcomes. Study quality ranged from 7 to 12. The pooled effect sizes between ACEs and prenatal (N = 12; r = .19; 95% CI= .13, .24) and postpartum (N = 7; r = .23; 95% CI = .06 to .39) depressive symptoms were significant. The pooled effect size between ACEs and prenatal anxiety was also significant (N = 5; r = .14; 95% CI= .07, .21). Moderator analyses indicated that timing of depressive and anxiety symptoms may be important for understanding associations.
conclusionsACEs confer risk to maternal mental health, albeit effect sizes are small to moderate in magnitude. Trauma-informed approaches, as well as increased mental health support during and after pregnancy, may help to offset the relative risk of ACEs on maternal mental health.
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