• Benedicte M Zilmer, Gritt Overbeck, Volkert Siersma, and Philip Wilson.
• Department of Public Health, Centre for General Practice, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5 1353, København K, Denmark.
• Fam Pract. 2025 Jan 17; 42 (1).

BackgroundAntenatal depression and anxiety are associated with preterm labour, low birth weight, and postpartum depression, and can impact the emotional and mental development of the child. Both adverse childhood experiences and recent stressful events are linked to negative health outcomes. However, certain events may be more impactful than others.ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the most important types of adverse childhood events and recent stressors that may help in identifying pregnant women in most need of psychological support.MethodsThis observational study examines data from the FamilieTrivsel trial, in which women between 6 and 10 weeks gestation were recruited by general practitioners. All participants were asked to complete questionnaires. Mental health was assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS). Potential contributory risk factors were identified using the Recent Life Events Questionnaire and the Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire. The relative importance of the various types of events was analysed in a dominance analysis, and the direction of their association was determined by a multivariable linear regression analysis.ResultsOf specific recent life events, serious problems with a friend, divorce, racial harassment, unemployment, financial difficulties, and moving house had the strongest associations with poor mental health, along with childhood experience of mental illness in the household. Growing up with an experience of physical neglect and parental divorce were, paradoxically, associated with lower HADS scores.ConclusionsRecent stressful life events have a stronger association with postnatal mental health than adverse childhood events, implying that it might be useful for clinicians providing routine antenatal care to gather information on recent stressors.© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.

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