---
title: Are premenstrual mood changes linked to depression and anxiety during pregnancy and after childbirth?
description: Yes. Women with premenstrual irritability before pregnancy had higher depression scores throughout pregnancy and after birth, plus greater anxiety about pregn
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-mood-changes-and-maternal-mental-health-in-pregnancy-and-the-1997/
---

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- Are premenstrual mood changes linked to depression and anxiety during pregnancy and after childbirth?

Cohort study, 1997

# Are premenstrual mood changes linked to depression and anxiety during pregnancy and after childbirth?

Yes. Women with premenstrual irritability before pregnancy had higher depression scores throughout pregnancy and after birth, plus greater anxiety about pregnancy, delivery, and their babies.

 Moderate study design

1,329 women surveyed before pregnancy and tracked through pregnancy and postpartum

## What they did

A prospective questionnaire survey of 1,329 women. Researchers asked about premenstrual mood changes before pregnancy and then tracked depression and anxiety at 6 time points: early pregnancy, middle pregnancy, late pregnancy, 5 days after birth, 1 month after birth, and 6 months after birth.

## What they found

Women with premenstrual mood changes (irritability) before pregnancy showed significantly higher depression scores on the Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale throughout all pregnancy and postpartum time points compared to women without premenstrual irritability. In addition, women with premenstrual irritability had greater anxiety about pregnancy and delivery, were more reluctant to accept mother roles, and felt their babies were more vulnerable.

## What it means for you

Premenstrual mood symptoms may signal a general pattern of mood instability that continues and affects mental health during pregnancy and after birth. This suggests premenstrual irritability is linked to broader mood patterns across life. However, this is an observational study, so we cannot say that premenstrual symptoms directly cause perinatal depression.

1,329

Number of women studied

6

Assessment time points

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual mood changes and maternal mental health in pregnancy and the postpartum period Authors Sugawara M, Toda MA, Shima S et al. Journal Journal of clinical psychology Year 1997 Study design Cohort study Participants 1,329 What was tested None (observational) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199704)53:3 3.0.co;2-q](https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199704)53:3 3.0.co;2-q)

## Topics

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

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