Trajectories of mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms from pregnancy to 24 months postpartum

For both mothers and fathers, 63.1% and 74.9%, respectively, exhibited low depressive symptom trajectories from prenatal to 24 months postpartum.

• Three stable depressive symptom trajectories were identified: low, moderate, and high.
• Moderate depressive symptoms were observed in 28.1% of mothers and 22.6% of fathers, while high symptoms were present in 8.8% of mothers and 2.6% of fathers.
• Insomnia, prior depression, anxiety, stress, and poor family atmosphere were linked to moderate and high depressive symptom trajectories.
• A significant association was found between mothers' and fathers' depressive symptom trajectories (p < 0.001).
• The low number of fathers in the high depressive symptom trajectory group indicates a limitation in the findings.

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