Women who’ve had concussions are more likely to have mental health problems following childbirth A history of concussion increases a new mom’s risk by 25% The risk is even higher in women without any prior mental health diagnoses MONDAY, Nov. 4, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Women who’ve had are more likely to suffer severe mental health problems following childbirth, a new study shows. A history of concussion increased a new mother’s risk of severe mental illness by 25%, after adjusting for other factors, Canadian researchers reported.
“We found that individuals with a history of concussion were significantly more likely to experience serious mental health challenges, such as psychiatric emergency department visits or self-harm, in the years following childbirth,” said lead researcher , a registered midwife and doctoral candidate in health research methodology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. She conducted the study while at the the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 750,000 pregnant women in Ontario between 2007 and 2017.
These women’s mental health outcomes were tracked for up to 14 years following delivery. Among women with a history of concussion, 11% experienced severe mental illness. Only 7% of those without prior concussions developed severe mental disorders.
The findings, published Nov. 4 in the were particularly striking among women with no prior .