The association between ante- and postnatal depressive symptoms and obesity in both mother and child: a systematic review of the literature.

Aim: The aim of this paper was to review the literature reporting on the relationship between ante- and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms and both maternal and childhood obesity.

Method: Articles were sourced from Medline, PsychInfo, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, Academic Search Premiere, and CINAHL. The search was limited to English papers published between January 2000 and June 2011 with key search terms including a combination of maternal, ante- and postnatal depression, obesity, and child.