Photo: Ben White via Unsplash
More than one in ten women experience mental complaints after pregnancy and often feel unhappy, nervous or gloomy, for example. This is evident from the new results of the national Monitor Substance Use and Pregnancy of the Trimbos Institute. These results are a first step towards a better understanding of mental health during pregnancy.
Monitor
The national monitor provides a global picture of the mental health of pregnant women. The monitor shows that some pregnant women or women who have just given birth are particularly vulnerable, for example women who live without a partner or who have become pregnant unplanned. These women relatively often have mental complaints after childbirth.
“These new figures provide an initial national picture and show that 11% of women experience mental complaints after pregnancy. So it turns out to be a large group of women. Moreover, these mental complaints probably not only affect the women themselves, but also their child. It is important for professionals to pay attention to mental health, especially in women with an extra vulnerability. For example by using the new toolkit Prevention of postpartum depression. “, says project leader Marlous Tuithof
A global picture
The Substance Use and Pregnancy Monitor focuses in particular on the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs by women and partners before, during and after pregnancy. In 2021, mental health was only examined with a very short questionnaire.
Marloes Tuithof: “It is important to note that these figures only give a global picture. The figures are comparable to findings from foreign research, but much is still unclear. For example, we do not know exactly what kind of mental complaints are involved, how long these complaints occur and whether women receive help for this. Further research is needed for that.”
Further research follows
Good national figures on mental health around pregnancy are also important for monitoring goals of pregnancy Multi-year Depression Prevention Programme. Expectant mothers and mothers who have recently given birth are designated as a high-risk group. In 2023, the Trimbos Institute will therefore set up a new national monitor with funding from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport: the Mental Health and Pregnancy Monitor.
This study takes a closer look at the mental health of women after pregnancy. Results of this new monitor are expected in 2024. With the help of these results, we gain a better insight into the severity and duration of the complaints and whether the women receive help for this.
Source: Trimbos Institute
