ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2023
Prevalence and risk factors for postnatal mental health problems in mothers of infants admitted to neonatal care: analysis of two population-based surveys in England.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Postnatal maternal mental health-related hospitalisation and its association with adverse child health and maltreatment outcomes: narrative review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Maternal Experiences with Exclusive Pumping-An Online Survey.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Prevalence of positive screens for depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms among parents of infants admitted to a NICU: a pilot study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- From NICU to home: meeting the mental health needs of families after discharge.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2025Review
- Does Infant Temperament Moderate the Relationship between Very Low Birth Weight and Behavioral Problems Over Six years?Child psychiatry and human development · 2025Article
- The effect of peer-led education on the quality of life of mothers of premature infants in neonatal intensive care units: a quasi-experimental study.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Do adverse childhood experiences increase the risk of postpartum traumatic stress and depression?Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2025Article
- Prevalence and predictors of common mental disorders among mothers of preterm babies at neonatal intensive care units in Ghana.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Collaborative Recognition of Wellbeing Needs: A Novel Approach to Universal Psychosocial Screening on the Neonatal Unit.Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2024Article
- Sexual victimisation, peer victimisation, and mental health outcomes among adolescents in Burkina Faso: a prospective cohort study.The lancet. Psychiatry · 2024Article
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7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundPrevious research suggests that mothers whose infants are admitted to neonatal units (NNU) experience higher rates of mental health problems compared to the general perinatal population. This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with postnatal depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress (PTS), and comorbidity of these mental health problems for mothers of infants admitted to NNU, six months after childbirth.
methodsThis was a secondary analysis of two cross-sectional, population-based National Maternity Surveys in England in 2018 and 2020. Postnatal depression, anxiety, and PTS were assessed using standardised measures. Associations between sociodemographic, pregnancy- and birth-related factors and postnatal depression, anxiety, PTS, and comorbidity of these mental health problems were explored using modified Poisson regression and multinomial logistic regression.
resultsEight thousand five hundred thirty-nine women were included in the analysis, of whom 935 were mothers of infants admitted to NNU. Prevalence of postnatal mental health problems among mothers of infants admitted to NNU was 23.7% (95%CI: 20.6-27.2) for depression, 16.0% (95%CI: 13.4-19.0) for anxiety, 14.6% (95%CI: 12.2-17.5) for PTS, 8.2% (95%CI: 6.5-10.3) for two comorbid mental health problems, and 7.5% (95%CI: 5.7-10.0) for three comorbid mental health problems six months after giving birth. These rates were consistently higher compared to mothers whose infants were not admitted to NNU (19.3% (95%CI: 18.3-20.4) for depression, 14.0% (95%CI: 13.1-15.0) for anxiety, 10.3% (95%CI: 9.5-11.1) for PTS, 8.5% (95%CI: 7.8-9.3) for two comorbid mental health problems, and 4.2% (95%CI: 3.6-4.8) for three comorbid mental health problems six months after giving birth. Among mothers of infants admitted to NNU (N = 935), the strongest risk factors for mental health problems were having a long-term mental health problem and antenatal anxiety, while social support and satisfaction with birth were protective.
conclusionsPrevalence of postnatal mental health problems was higher in mothers of infants admitted to NNU, compared to mothers of infants not admitted to NNU six months after giving birth. Experiencing previous mental health problems increased the risk of postnatal depression, anxiety, and PTS whereas social support and satisfaction with birth were protective. The findings highlight the importance of routine and repeated mental health assessments and ongoing support for mothers of infants admitted to NNU.
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