Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39843828›Full record

ArticleCommunications psychology2025

A network analysis of postpartum depression and mother-to-infant bonding shows common and unique symptom-level connections across three postpartum periods.

Norihiro Harasawa, Chong Chen, Sumiyo Okawa, Ryo Okubo, Toshio Matsubara, Shin Nakagawa, Takahiro Tabuchi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Stable structure, shifting links: How depression-anxiety symptom networks reconfigure from pregnancy to postpartum.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Norihiro HarasawaRIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Saitama, Japan. ohide980@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-8863-7525
Chong ChenDivision of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan. cchen@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3189-7397
Sumiyo OkawaInstitute for Global Health Policy Research, Bureau of International Health Cooperation, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Ryo OkuboDepartment of Psychiatry, National Hospital Organization Obihiro Hospital, Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan.
Toshio MatsubaraDivision of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan.
Shin NakagawaDivision of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan.
Takahiro TabuchiCancer Control Center, Osaka International Cancer Institute, Osaka, Japan.

Funding

MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI JP21H04856
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Postpartum depression and mother-to-infant bonding difficulties (MIBD), two issues crucial to maternal and infant mental health, often coexist and affect each other. Our study aims to dissect their complex relationship through a graphical LASSO network analysis of individual symptoms in 5594 Japanese postpartum women, whose geographical distribution was nationally representative. We identified 'fear', 'enjoyment', 'overwhelm', and 'insomnia' as common bridge symptoms linking postpartum depression and MIBD across three distinct postpartum periods. Moreover, 'self-harm' emerged as a bridge symptom in the first 6 months and the 7-12 month period, while 'laugh' was a bridge symptom in the first 6 months and the 13-24 month period. Notably, 'self-blame' was identified as a unique bridge symptom specific to the 13-24 month period. Our analysis highlights the complexities of symptom connectivity across postpartum stages and underscores the critical need for interventions that address both common and stage-specific bridge symptoms to effectively support maternal mental health and strengthen mother-to-infant bonding.

Identifiers

PMID39843828
PMCPMC11754899

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.