Psychological distress in postpartum: influence of late preterm delivery

Background Psychological distress in women during the postpartum period has been for a while an issue of great concern. There is substantial evidence that maternal psychological distress after pregnancy is associated with an adverse cognitive and behavioural consequence in the offspring [1]. There are also severe implications during the perinatal period for the mother’s long term mental health [2,3], her partner’s mental health [4,5], and for the parental relationship [6]. The growing trend in late preterm deliveries suggests research on postpartum psychological distress risk in this group of vulnerable women.