The risk of mental health issues is higher among pregnant women who previously served in war.
This is according to recent research published in the Journal of Women's Health, which looked at veterans from the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They discovered that the chances of mental health problems including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety are higher among the veterans than their civilian peers.
Susan Kornstein, executive director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, commented: "With the increased number of women serving in the military it is important that we understand their unique health issues such as mental health problems during pregnancy."
The authors reviewed the records of more than 43,000 female veterans who completed their military service in Iraq or Afghanistan between 2001 and 2008.
The team, from the Yale School of Medicine, proposed that the risk of mental health issues was increased by pregnancy due to the hormonal and physiological changes occurring in the woman's body.
© Adfero Ltd
Private mental health treatment news: 29 December 2010
