“
TL;DR
This systematic review of 10 studies found that adherence to healthy dietary patterns during pregnancy may be inversely associated with postpartum depression risk, while evidence for unhealthy diets was inconsistent and inconclusive.
Maternal and Child Health Journal · 4 authors, 4 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
This systematic review of 10 studies found that adherence to healthy dietary patterns during pregnancy may be inversely associated with postpartum depression risk, while evidence for unhealthy diets was inconsistent and inconclusive.
This systematic review analyzed ten observational studies (eight cohort, two cross-sectional) to explore the association between maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy and postpartum depression (PPD). The review found substantial heterogeneity in how dietary patterns and PPD were measured across studies. Healthy dietary patterns (e.g., 'healthy', 'Japanese', 'Vegetable', 'Seafood') were identified. Four of eight studies showed an inverse association between healthy diet adherence and PPD risk, while only one of seven studies associated unhealthy diets with increased PPD risk. The authors concluded that healthy diets may be beneficial for PPD prevention, but the link with unhealthy diets requires more high-quality research.