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Perinatal depression is a debilitating disorder experienced during pregnancy and/or the first year post-partum. Recently, maternal dietary intake during pregnancy has emerged as a possible area of intervention for the prevention of mental disorders in women and their offspring. However, the relationship between antenatal diet quality and perinatal depressive symptoms remains poorly understood. The current study explored the predictive role of antenatal diet quality for antenatal and post-natal depressive symptoms. Pregnant women (n = 167) were recruited between February 2010 and December 2011. Women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at time 1 [T1, mean weeks gestation = 16.70, standard deviation (SD) = 0.91], time 2 (T2, mean weeks gestation = 32.89, SD = 0.89) and time 3 (T3, mean weeks post-partum = 13.51, SD = 1.97) and a food frequency questionnaire at T1 and T2. Diet quality was determined by extracting dietary patterns via principal components analysis. Two dietary patterns were identified: 'healthy' (including fruit, vegetables, fish and whole grains) and 'unhealthy' (including sweets, refined grains, high-energy drinks and fast foods). Associations between dietary patterns and depressive symptoms were investigated by path analyses. While both 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' path models showed good fit, only one significant association consistent with study hypotheses was found, an 'unhealthy' diet was associated with increased depressive symptoms at 32 weeks gestation. Given that this association was cross-sectional, it was not possible to make any firm conclusions about the predictive nature of either dietary patterns or depressive symptoms. Dietary intervention studies or larger prospective studies are therefore recommended.

Objective: This paper systematically reviews the literature to date on the relationship between disordered eating and mental health, psychological and social factors during pregnancy and the post-partum period, as well as the direction of associations.Methods: Peer reviewed articles were sourced from seven databases: PsycINFO, CINAHL, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, Academic Search Complete, Scopus (MEDLINE), Web of Science, and Proquest. A quality review and best evidence synthesis was conducted.Results: The final review included 11 prospective cohort and 14 cross sectional/retrospective studies. According to a synthesis of findings, a strong level of evidence supports an association between disordered eating during pregnancy and depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy. There was also a limited level of evidence for the association between disordered eating and obsessive-compulsive symptoms during pregnancy and between disordered eating and depressive symptoms during the post-partum period.No directions of associations could be determined. Conclusions:On the basis of initial findings, it is recommended that depressive and anxiety symptoms be monitored in conjunction with any disordered eating concerns during perinatal care. Given the significance of the childbearing years to the health and well-being of both mother and infant, further prospective cohort studies in this area are necessitated.

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