Maternal mental disorders and neonatal outcomes: Danish population-based cohort study

Previous studies have indicated associations between maternal mental disorders and adverse birth outcomes; however, these studies mainly focus on certain types of mental disorders, rather than the whole spectrum.

We aimed to conduct a broad study examining all maternal mental disorder types and adverse neonatal outcomes which is needed to provide a more complete understanding of the associations.

We included 1 132 757 liveborn singletons born between 1997 and 2015 in Denmark. We compared children of mothers with a past (>2 years prior to conception; n = 48 646), recent (2 years prior to conception and during pregnancy; n = 15 899) or persistent (both past and recent; n = 10 905) diagnosis of any mental disorder, with children of mothers with no mental disorder diagnosis before the index delivery (n = 1 057 307). We also considered different types of mental disorders. We calculated odds ratios and 95% CIs of low birthweight, preterm birth, small for gestational age, low Apgar score, Caesarean delivery and neonatal death.

Odds ratios for children exposed to past, recent and persistent maternal mental disorders suggested an increased risk for almost all adverse neonatal outcomes. Estimates were highest for children in the 'persistent' group for all outcomes, with the exception of the association between persistent maternal mental disorders and neonatal death (odds ratio 0.96, 0.62-1.48).

Our study provides evidence for increased risk of multiple adverse neonatal outcomes among children of mothers with mental disorders, highlighting the need for close monitoring and support for women with mental disorders.