Incidence of postpartum depression decreases after initial expansion of military maternity leave

  • Herrick, M. S. R., & Chai, W. (2023). Incidence of postpartum depression decreases after initial expansion of military maternity leave. Military Medicine, Article usad354. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usad354
  • In 2016, Service members’ maternity leave increased from 6 to 12 weeks. This study used medical records to compare the rate of postpartum depression diagnoses of active-duty women who received 6 weeks of leave (i.e., gave birth between 2011–2015) and those who received 12 weeks (i.e., gave birth between 2016–2019). Collectively, 4.8% of Servicewomen were diagnosed with postpartum depression. In the first 2 years of the new maternity leave policy (2016-17), a Servicewoman’s odds of receiving a postpartum depression diagnosis were reduced by 50%. In 2018 and 2019, however, the rate of this diagnosis increased substantially, which may have been related to mandates that increased screening.

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Research summaries convey terminology used by the scientists who authored the original research article; some terminology may not align with the federal government's mandated language for certain constructs.

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