Abstract
No increased risk of postpartum major depression (PPMD) was reported in women conceiving through assisted reproductive technologies (ART). However, ART may be associated with a higher risk of parenting difficulties in women with PPMD. In 359 women with a PPMD admitted to a Mother-Baby Unit (MBU), ART-women (4.2%) showed a 5-fold higher rate of parenting difficulties than those with spontaneous pregnancy (73.33% vs. 35.17%, multivariate ORa = 5.09 [1.48–17.48] p = 0.01). Specific support for mother-child relationship should be implemented in ART-women with PPMD.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank members of MBUs from: Bordeaux, Montesson, Strasbourg, Le Vesinet, Créteil, Villejuif, Paris, Brussels, Limoges, Ottiginies, Marseille, Gent, Lille, Besançon, Albi, and Brumath who contributed to data collection; and the women who participated in the study.
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N. Glangeaud-Freudenthal and A.L. Sutter-Dallay designed the study. F. Gressier performed the statistical analyses, supervised by B. Falissard. F. Gressier, A. Mezzacappa and A.L. Sutter-Dallay interpreted data. F. Gressier has written the first draft of the article. N. Glangeaud-Freudenthal, B. Falissard, E. Corruble, and A.L. Sutter-Dallay have revised the manuscript. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.
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Gressier, F., Mezzacappa, A., Glangeaud-Freudenthal, N. et al. Assisted reproductive technologies could be associated with higher risk of parenting difficulties in women with postpartum major depression. Arch Womens Ment Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-024-01454-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-024-01454-0