Postpartum self-harm thoughts and subsequent risk of intentional self-harm.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Suicide is a leading cause of maternal mortality, with many cases considered preventable. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) item 10 screens for self-harm thoughts in the past 7 days. This study aimed to investigate whether a positive response ('hardly ever', 'sometimes' or 'quite often') is associated with subsequent hospital-registered intentional self-harm, non-suicidal or suicidal, among postpartum women.

Methods

We conducted a population-based cohort study of 170 218 childbirths (38% of the source population) from 142 795 unique women in Denmark by linking nationwide registers with the HOPE cohort. Self-harm thoughts were defined as any non-zero response to EPDS item 10. The primary outcome was a hospital-recorded episode of intentional self-harm

SUBMITTER: Liu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12933761 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature