Study examines prenatal depression in 2 generations of pregnant mothers

Bottom Line: A study of two generations of women in England examined how common depression during pregnancy (prenatal depression) is in young mothers now compared with their mothers' generation. Depressed mood was measured using self-reported surveys in both generations and analysis of the data suggests depression in young pregnant women may be higher now than among their mothers' generation in the 1990s. Researchers acknowledge a number of plausible explanations for their findings requiring further study.

Authors: Rebecca M. Pearson, Ph.D., of the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, and coauthors

To Learn More: The full study is available on the For The Media website.

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.0725)

Editor's Note: The article contains conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

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JAMA Network