Sign up to receive our newsletter

B Vitamins Help With Postpartum Depression

            According to a study ("Dietary Folate and Vitamins B12, B6, and B2 Intake and the Risk of Postpartum Depression in Japan: The Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study," Miyake Y, Sasaki S, et al, J Affect Disord., 2006 June 29), B vitamin intake may help to prevent postpartum depression. The subjects of the study were 865 Japanese women who filled out dietary data questionnaires during their pregnancy. Of the group, 121 developed depression between two and nine months postpartum (scored 9 or higher on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale). Women who had diets high in riboflavin (vitamin B2 were less likely to suffer from postpartum depression than those who had diets that were low in vitamin B2.

Articles