---
title: Do PMS and unhelpful thinking patterns connect to postpartum depression?
description: Yes. Both showed clear connections to postpartum depression. Together they explained 42% of the variation in depression scores.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/early-maladaptive-schemas-and-premenstrual-syndrome-in-mothers-with-postpartum-2018/
---

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- Do PMS and unhelpful thinking patterns connect to postpartum depression?

Survey study, 2018

# Do PMS and unhelpful thinking patterns connect to postpartum depression?

Yes. Both showed clear connections to postpartum depression. Together they explained 42% of the variation in depression scores.

 Early or limited evidence

179 mothers in Mashhad, Iran with mean age 29.7 years

## What they did

Asked 179 new mothers in Iran to fill out questionnaires about their thinking patterns, PMS symptoms, and depression in the weeks after birth.

## What they found

Both PMS and maladaptive schemas (unhelpful thinking patterns) showed clear connections to postpartum depression. Together they predicted 42% of the variation in depression.

## What it means for you

Women with PMS and certain thinking patterns may be at higher risk for postpartum depression. However this only shows connection, not cause. The study was small and looked at only one location.

179

Mothers studied

42%

Variance in depression explained by PMS and thinking patterns

29.7

Mean age of mothers

## About the study

Original title Early Maladaptive schemas and Premenstrual syndrome in mothers with postpartum depression Authors Bahman Alimoradi, Hamid Nejat Journal Preventive Care In Nursing and Midwifery Journal Year 2018 Study design Survey study Participants 179 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.29252/pcnm.8.1.43](https://doi.org/10.29252/pcnm.8.1.43)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Pregnancy and postpartum](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-postpartum/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

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Is there a link between premenstrual disorders and autoimmune disease?

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Do women with a history of PMS or PMDD have more depression during pregnancy and after birth?

Case-control study, 2024

Do steroid hormone levels change differently across the menstrual cycle in women with PMDD?

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