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Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants

Published on: June 13, 2021

Maternally focused worry.

Jane Phillips¹, Louise Sharpe, Stephen Matthey

¹University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. janep@psych.usyd.edu.au

Archives of Women'S Mental Health

|July 24, 2009

Summary

Many postpartum women experience significant anxiety not meeting full diagnostic criteria. This study identifies maternally focused worry as an under-recognized condition similar to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in severity and risk factors.

Area of Science:

Psychiatry
Psychology
Obstetrics

Background:

Postnatal anxiety is prevalent but often undiagnosed.
Existing anxiety disorder criteria may not capture all affected women.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate maternally focused worry in the postnatal period.
To compare this condition to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Main Methods:

167 mothers of infants (2 weeks-12 months) were interviewed using SCID-I.
Self-report measures assessed risk factors and symptomatology.
Qualitative comments from women with Anxiety Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (ADNOS) were analyzed.

Main Results:

Maternally focused worry (ADNOS) was nearly as common as GAD.

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Women with maternally focused worry showed similar anxiety/depressive severity and impairment to GAD patients.

Risk factors were comparable between the two groups.

Conclusions:

Maternally focused worry is an under-recognized postnatal mental health issue.
It warrants further clinical attention and research.
Diagnostic criteria may need reevaluation for postnatal anxiety.