Abstract
Despite what some researchers may suggest, the association between child developmental outcomes and perinatal mental health disorders may not be consistently found. Wide methodological differences between the conceptualization and measurement of child development and perinatal mental health, including depression and anxiety, limit the comparability of findings, and small effects and differences in sample sizes ensure that reported associations are not to be overstated. For serious mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, schizophrenia, or substance use disorders, there is a lack of robust longitudinal evidence. What the existing literature tells us is that over and above perinatal mental health, it is the complex interaction of maternal and child factors that might explain the variation in developmental outcomes observed in the research rather than the maternal psychopathology itself. We have an obligation to those women who experience perinatal mental health difficulties to ensure the accurate translation of research findings so that intervention can be applied where risk factors are identified that may influence child developmental outcomes.