Basic Research in Perinatal Depression

PIRI’s basic research focuses on identifying and understanding key risk factors for perinatal depression, including anxiety, sleep disturbance, maternal and infant weight gain, and their effects on parent–infant relationships and infant development.

In collaboration with Perinatal Depression & Anxiety Australia (PANDA), PIRI published a national survey examining public perinatal mental health literacy (Smith, Gemmill & Milgrom, 2019). While awareness of postnatal depression was found to be relatively high, the survey highlighted significant gaps in understanding of perinatal anxiety, antenatal mental health, and men’s perinatal mental health.

A major focus of PIRI’s research has been the relative importance of psychosocial risk factors for postnatal depression. PIRI played a key role in the beyondblue-funded National Postnatal Depression Project (2001–2005), which involved a cohort of 40,333 women. This remains one of the largest and most demographically comprehensive studies of perinatal depression conducted internationally. The study identified risk factors of unique importance and provided the first quantified estimates of perinatal depression risk among Indigenous Australian women.

Additional foundational research has explored the relationships between depression, anxiety, and sleep, as well as the impact of maternal depression on both maternal and child weight outcomes.