Objective: The armed conflict in Ukraine and its impact on Europe's economy have led to an war and economic crisis, potentially affecting the mental health of women during the perinatal period. This study aimed to assess the severity of depressive symptoms and labor anxiety among Polish women in perinatal period during this crisis. Methods: From June 2, 2022, to April 11, 2023, 152 women completed three sets of online surveys-two during pregnancy (before 33 weeks and/or between 33 and 37 weeks) and one postpartum (4 weeks after childbirth). The questionnaires used to evaluate the anxiety and depressive symptoms included Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-2), Labor Anxiety Questionnaire (LAQ), and team-developed questionnaires evaluating war-related anxiety (WAQ) and global situation anxiety (GSAQ) Statistical analyses included U-Mann Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcoxon signed-rank, Friedman tests and Spearman's correlations, with a significance level set at p < .05. Results: Among Polish pregnant women aged 23-43, 31.6% of participants experienced depressive symptoms, while 70.4% reported increased labor-related anxiety. Additionally, 24.3% experienced significant anxiety due to the war, and 25% suffered from severe anxiety related to the global situation. Positive correlations were noted between EPDS and GSAQ scores (R = 0.34, p < .001) and LAQ and WAQ scores (R = 0.21, p = .008). Conclusions: The prevalence of perinatal depression is high during war and economic crisis, underscoring the urgent need to improve screening for perinatal depression in Poland. Further, the manuscript did not discuss symptom patterns across the three time points.

Background: Postnatal bonding reflects the early emotional relationship between a mother and her infant and is shaped by psychological and perinatal factors. This study examined associations between postnatal bonding and maternal depressive symptoms, resilience, labor anxiety, and sociodemographic and health-related variables, as well as anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and global events. Methods: This prospective cohort study included and followed 150 pregnant women in Poland from pregnancy to 12 months postpartum. Assessments were conducted during pregnancy and at 4–6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months after delivery. Postnatal bonding was assessed using the PBQ, depressive symptoms with the EPDS, labor anxiety with the LAQ, resilience with the KOP-26, and anxiety related to external stressors with study-specific questionnaires. Non-parametric analyses were performed with a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: Postnatal bonding difficulties were most prevalent at 4–6 weeks postpartum (26.1%) and decreased over time. Maternal depressive symptoms showed the strongest and most consistent associations with bonding difficulties, whereas higher resilience, particularly in family relations and social competence, was associated with better bonding outcomes. Labor anxiety was weakly associated with bonding only in the early postpartum period, while no associations were found with sociodemographic characteristics or anxiety related to external societal stressors. Conclusions: Maternal depressive symptoms and resilience emerged as the key factors associated with postnatal bonding quality, highlighting their importance as targets for early identification and intervention.

Background/Objectives: Despite the availability of multiple pharmacological treatment options, up to one-third of patients with depressive disorders fail to achieve adequate symptom relief following first-line antidepressant therapy, representing a major unmet clinical need. Fatty acids—including short-chain (SCFAs), medium-chain (MCFAs), and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)—are increasingly implicated in depression pathogenesis through neuroinflammation, gut–brain axis signaling, and neurotransmitter metabolism, but their potential as predictors of antidepressant response remains largely unexplored. The primary aim is to evaluate whether baseline fatty acid profiles can predict pharmacological antidepressant treatment efficacy. The secondary objective is to assess the association between blood fatty acid profile and clinical presentation of depressive disorders. Methods: Sixty adults diagnosed with depressive disorders (ICD-11) at the initiation of a new antidepressant treatment will be recruited from psychiatric settings. Fasting blood samples collected at baseline will undergo gas chromatographic analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) and GC-MS quantification of SCFAs (acetic, propionic, and butyric acids). Clinical outcomes will be assessed at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 weeks using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-42). The primary endpoint is the change in BDI-II total score from baseline to week 6. Treatment response, defined as a ≥50% reduction in BDI-II total score at week 6, and remission, defined as a BDI-II score ≤12 at week 6, will be examined as secondary outcomes. Dietary habits, physical activity, quality of life, and anthropometric parameters will be collected as potential confounders. Discussion: This study is among the first prospective investigations to comprehensively characterize the circulating fatty acid spectrum as potential predictors of antidepressant outcomes. Findings may support identification of metabolic phenotypes of depression and contribute to personalized treatment strategies.