Pregnancy linked to lower rates of self-harm

Pregnant woman - The largest ever UK study to examine self-harm risk around pregnancy has shown that most women are generally less likely to self-harm during and after pregnancy. The University of Manchester team showed that in 1000 women, 4 are likely to self-harm over a year and this risk halves in pregnancy to 2, according to the research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry today (03/03/22). And while women with a diagnosis of psychiatric disorder had a higher background risk of self-harm, their risk more than halved when pregnant. Even after pregnancy, women over the age of 30 are at lower risk of self-harm. The risk reduction at 3-6 months after pregnancy is 13% for women aged 30 to 34, and 27% for women aged 35 to 45, compared to women of the same age who were not pregnant, reports in the study. However, mothers under the age of 30 are more likely to self-harm between 3 and 6 months after giving birth. Mums aged 15 to 19 are 66% more likely, 20 to 24 year-olds 40% more likely, and 25 to 29 year-olds 15% more likely to self-harm between 3 and 6 months after giving birth compared to women of the same age who were not pregnant, according to the study from The University's Centre for Women's Mental Health.