Maternal antenatal mental health and its associations with perinatal outcomes and the use of healthcare services in children from the NINFEA birth cohort study

Conclusion: Antenatal maternal mental health is a potential risk factor for child-health outcomes and healthcare use. Early maternal mental health interventions may help to promote child health and reduce healthcare costs.What is Known:• Poor maternal mental health affects pregnancy outcomes and child health, and children of mothers with mental health conditions tend to have increased healtcare utilization.• Parents with poor mental health often face challenges in caring for their children and have less parenting self-efficacy, which could potentially lead to frequent medical consultations for minor health issues.What is New:• Maternal pre-pregnancy mental disorders were not associated with preterm birth, low birth weight, SGA, and congenital anomalies, except for depression, which increased the risk of offspring admission to NICU. Anxiety disorders during pregnancy were associated with lower birth weight and an incr eased odds of preterm birth.• Maternal depression and/or anxiety and sleep disorders, both before and during pregnancy, were associated with an increase in children’s healthcare utilization between 6 and 18 months of life.
Source: European Journal of Pediatrics - Category: Pediatrics Source Type: research