Psychiatric History and Postpartum Depression: The Mediating Role of Obstetric Complications
Mette‐Marie Zacher Kjeldsen, Katrine Holde, Line Bager, Veerle Bergink, Emely Ek Blæhr, Janne Tidselbak Larsen, Kathrine Bang Madsen, Merete Lund Mægbæk, Liselotte Vogdrup Petersen, Trine Munk‐Olsen · 2026
Read Psychiatric History and Postpartum Depression: The Mediating Role of Obstetric Complications by Mette‐Marie Zacher Kjeldsen, Katrine Holde, Line Bager, Veerle Bergink, Emely Ek Blæhr, Janne Tidselbak Larsen, Kathrine Bang Madsen, Merete Lund Mægbæk, Liselotte Vogdrup Petersen, Trine Munk‐Olsen (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13429344.txt.
Description
A past psychiatric illness is the strongest known risk factor for postpartum depression. Birth complications, which are more common in these mothers, add risk alone. Mette-Marie Zacher Kjeldsen and co-authors asked whether complications are the bridge between the two. They used Danish national registers linked to depression screening scores for over one hundred sixty thousand mothers. About a quarter of the mothers had a psychiatric history, and they showed higher rates of depressive symptoms and diagnosed postpartum depression.
Complications were somewhat more common in mothers with a psychiatric history. Both factors raised the risk of postpartum depression on their own, and each effect barely changed in the presence of the other. When the team tested mediation, complications explained well under one percent of the link. The authors conclude the two risks mostly act side by side, so support should target both.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Mette‐Marie Zacher Kjeldsen, Katrine Holde, Line Bager, Veerle Bergink, Emely Ek Blæhr, Janne Tidselbak Larsen, Kathrine Bang Madsen, Merete Lund Mægbæk, Liselotte Vogdrup Petersen, Trine Munk‐Olsen |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 34 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |