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No Baby to Bring Home: Perinatal Loss, Infertility, and Mental Illness—Overview and Recommendations for Care

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Update readers on the state of the research on mental health, perinatal loss, and infertility with a focus on providing a comprehensive overview to empower clinicians in treating this population.

Recent Findings

Rates of psychiatric illness are increased in people that experience perinatal loss and infertility. The research remains largely below the clear need for focused screening, prevention, and treatment.

Summary

Clinicians and researchers need to remain attuned to the impact of perinatal loss and infertility on the mental health of patients and families. Screening, referral, and expanded therapeutic and psychiatric resources are imperative to improving the well-being of these patients and families.

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Data Availability

This is a review of existing literature. No separate data was analyzed for the purposes of this manuscript.

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, USA

    Julia N. Riddle & Tiffany Hopkins

  2. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, USA

    Amanda Yeaton-Massey

  3. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Samantha Hellberg

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Correspondence to Julia N. Riddle.

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Conflict of Interest

Julia N. Riddle receives funding from the Foundation of Hope for pilot research and serves on the advisory board for cercle.ai for which she received stock options. Tiffany Hopkins declares no conflicts. Amanda Yeaton-Massey chairs the NIMH-funded MInD study data safety monitoring board, serves on the clinical advisory board for the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, and was a consultant for Seven Starling from July 2022 to May 2023 for which she received financial compensation. Samantha Hellberg received funding from International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) Michael Jenike Young Investigator Award and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP; #DGE-1650116).

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Riddle, J.N., Hopkins, T., Yeaton-Massey, A. et al. No Baby to Bring Home: Perinatal Loss, Infertility, and Mental Illness—Overview and Recommendations for Care. Curr Psychiatry Rep 25, 747–757 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-023-01469-x

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