Prevention and Management of Substance Use and Mental Health Issues in the Perinatal Period
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 81
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
A significant volume of research over the last several decades has identified adverse outcomes following substance use and mental health issues during pregnancy and the post partum period. Children born to women who use legal or illicit substances or misused prescription drugs during pregnancy are at increased risk for a multitude of health and developmental concerns. Similarly, pregnancy and post natal mental health issues are associated with poor maternal and child outcomes, with both substance use and mental health issues negatively impacting mother–child attachment and family functioning. Despite these findings, rates of substance use and poor mental health during the perinatal period remain high and are neither universally identified nor successfully managed. In order to reduce adverse outcomes and improve quality of life for the women and children affected by these issues, high-quality evidence is needed, identifying populations at risk and the best methods of identification, intervention, and even prevention. For this Special Issue, we invite the submission of papers that address this evidence gap, focusing on one or more of the following topics:
- Identifying risk and resilience factors for maternal substance use and/or mental health issues during the perinatal period, as well as risk and resilience factors for poor outcomes following these experiences.
- The development and evaluation of methods or systems to prevent substance use or mental health issues in pregnancy and post partum or methods to prevent adverse outcomes following exposure.
- The development and evaluation of methods or systems to identify women with, or at risk for, substance use or mental health issues during the perinatal period or children exposed to these factors.
- The development and evaluation of methods or interventions addressing substance use or mental health issues during the perinatal period or methods or interventions to address the resulting outcomes.
Clinical, health system-based, and population health-focused studies are welcome, including original studies and comprehensive reviews.
Prof. Dr. Beth Bailey
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- pregnancy substance use
- perinatal mental health
- mental health screening
- substance use screening
- pregnancy intervention
- mental health risk
- substance use risk
- in utero exposures
- mother–child health
- developmental outcomes
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