Research Trends in Maternal Distress during the Perinatal Period: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Maternal distress is a global perinatal mental health issue. As numerous studies have shown that maternal distress can negatively impact maternal quality of life and child developmental outcomes, it is crucial to conduct current research on maternal distress during the perinatal period. This study reviews the literature on maternal distress in this context and analyses global research productivity from 2015-2024. A bibliometric analysis was conducted on 184 documents from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The data were processed via R Studio (Biblioshiny) to evaluate annual scientific production, citations, leading journals, authors, study affiliations, each country’s scientific output, and the most cited countries. This bibliometric analysis of 184 documents from 103 sources indicates that 2019 and 2021 were the years with the highest literature production, with a 5.84% annual growth rate. The Journal of Affective Disorders is the primary publication in this field. The key contributor to the literature is Monk C, with 8 articles and 395 citations. Babol University of Medical Sciences stands out as the most influential affiliation, with 27 articles. The United States of America (USA) has the highest volume of scientific contributions in this area and ranks the highest among the top countries in terms of academic citations. The most frequently cited keywords include ‘pregnancy’, ‘depression’, ‘female’, ‘anxiety’, and ‘adult’. The findings of this bibliometric review suggest that the topic has garnered less attention, indicating an opportunity to identify research gaps that require further investigation.