{"id":23600,"date":"2026-04-29T08:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T12:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/?post_type=news_release&#038;p=23600"},"modified":"2026-04-30T11:13:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:13:03","slug":"past-violence-and-brain-injury-amplify-mental-health-vulnerability-after-childbirth","status":"publish","type":"news_release","link":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/past-violence-and-brain-injury-amplify-mental-health-vulnerability-after-childbirth\/","title":{"rendered":"Past violence and brain injury amplify mental health vulnerability after childbirth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Toronto, ON,\u00a0April 29,\u00a02026<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f\u2014\u202fThe risk of new and severe postpartum mental illness is highest among people who experienced both traumatic brain injury (TBI) and interpersonal violence compared to those with neither factor. The next highest risk is among individuals who experience interpersonal violence alone, followed by those with a history of TBI only.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A TBI occurs when an external force damages the brain and can lead to mild to severe physical and psychological effects, including an elevated risk of mental illness. Besides falls and motor vehicle crashes, another common cause of TBI is interpersonal violence, with more than 60 per cent of these incidents resulting in a TBI-related diagnosis.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The study, led by researchers from\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ICES<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, examined 1,090,139 births in Ontario between 2012 and 2021. They found that among those with a history of both TBI and interpersonal violence who did not receive mental health care in the two years prior to giving birth, nearly one in five (21.5 per cent) were at risk of new episodes of mental illness. Even among those who had received mental health care, the risk of severe postpartum mental illness\u2014defined as one or more psychiatric emergency department visits or hospital admissions\u2014was highest for individuals with a history of both TBI and interpersonal violence, at 14.1 per cent. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cExposure to trauma over time can make the brain more susceptible to mental illness,\u201d says Dr. Hilary Brown, Scientist at ICES and Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Society at the University of Toronto Scarborough.\u202f\u201cWhen sleep deprivation, hormonal fluctuations, and other stressors associated with childbirth are added, these factors combined with past trauma can have more profound effects and further heighten this vulnerability.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cGiven the significant long-term risks to mother and child, it is crucial to implement healthcare and social supports that are trauma-informed, person-centred, and culturally sensitive,\u201d adds Brown.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To better support patients with TBI and history of interpersonal violence and minimize harm, the researchers recommend that healthcare providers adopt trauma- and violence-informed approaches to care. Resources such as the \u201cAbused and Brain Injured\u201d toolkit (<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abitoolkit.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">www.abitoolkit.ca<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">) can help providers foster patient safety and trust. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The study \u201cTraumatic brain injury, interpersonal violence, and postnatal mental illness: population-based study\u201d\u202fis in the\u202f<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">April\u00a0issue\u202fof\u202f<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ICES<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fis an independent, not-for-profit research and analytics institute that uses population-based health information to produce knowledge on a broad range of healthcare issues. ICES leads\u202fcutting-edge\u202fstudies and analyses evaluating healthcare policy, delivery, and population outcomes. Our knowledge is highly regarded in Canada and abroad and is widely used by government, hospitals, planners, and practitioners to make decisions about healthcare delivery and to develop policy. For the latest ICES news, follow us on BlueSky and LinkedIn: @ICESOntario\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Charlotte Lam\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Communications Associate\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">ICES\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/span><br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:media@ices.on.ca\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">media@ices.on.ca<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">437-317-8804\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The risk of new and severe postpartum mental illness is highest among people who experienced both traumatic brain injury (TBI) and interpersonal violence compared to those with neither factor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","migration-helper-automated":[],"migration-manual":[],"topic":[55,26,34],"class_list":["post-23600","news_release","type-news_release","status-publish","hentry","topic-injuries-and-accidents","topic-maternity-and-neonatal-care","topic-mental-health-and-addictions"],"acf":{"infographic":"","journal_article":[23905],"research_report":"","atlas":"","research_program":[6744],"site":[6733],"ices_scientist":[1164,1348,17115,16244,1195,1199,1338,1135],"announce_or_event":"","video":"","iitn_type":"Article","iitn_title":"","iitn_short_title":"","iitn_source_link_url":"","iitn_source_link_text":"","sitecore_item_id":"","sitecore_item_name":"","sitecore_field_values":"","previous_url":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ICES | Past violence and brain injury amplify mental 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