Perinatal depression and existing mental health problems

The results of a study published in The Lancet made general news last week when it strongly supported the theory that perinatal depression is a continuation of mental health problems from earlier in life. The research involved tracking Victorian women from adolescence, and has been going since 1992. The researchers concluded that women with a history of persisting common mental disorders before pregnancy are an identifiable high-risk group, deserving of clinical support throughout the childbearing years. "Furthermore, the window for considering preventive intervention for perinatal depression should extend to the time before conception.".

One of the authors, George Patton from the University of Melbourne, wrote a summary piece in The Conversation explaining the study and its implications: Postnatal depression is a continuation of existing mental health problems.  

The full study: Patton, G. C., Romaniuk, H., Spry, E., Coffey, C., Olsson, C., Doyle, L. W., . . . Brown, S. (2015). Prediction of perinatal depression from adolescence and before conception (VIHCS): 20-year prospective cohort study. The Lancet.