Study of Mood Episodes and Emotional Changes in Women During Pregnancy and Up to One Year After Birth

What this Trial Is About

This research focuses on mood episodes occurring during the perinatal period, a time when women are more vulnerable to psychological issues. The study aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of mood episodes such as depression and hypomania, which often go unrecognized. It addresses the complexity of mood symptoms that can appear during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, emphasizing the need for better clinical evaluation and management during this critical time. Participants in this study will complete self-questionnaires before their psychiatric appointments to systematically evaluate mood episode criteria and explore related contextual factors. The study integrates this process into routine clinical care to standardize assessments of mood episodes, including depressive and hypomanic symptoms. The study uses established scales such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Multidimensional Assessment of Thymic Scale to measure symptoms and related risk factors. Participants involvement includes completing self-report questionnaires that assess mood symptoms and risk factors like perceived stress and social support. Researchers will use these assessments to better understand mood episode characteristics during the perinatal period. The study monitors participants during their first psychiatric consultation related to the current pregnancy or postpartum period, with data collected on one day to describe mood symptoms and contextual influences.

Perinatal Thymic DYsregulation: Characterization of Perinatal Mood Episodes