Alexithymia and postpartum anxiety and depression symptoms: a follow-up study in a pregnancy cohort.

Introduction: There is a lack of longitudinal studies assessing the significance of alexithymia on the emergence of mental illnesses. We aimed to evaluate the potential effect of alexithymia on postpartum anxiety and depression symptoms in a sample of parents to be.

Methods: In a pregnancy cohort, longitudinal data were available from three time points (gestational weeks 18-20, and 3 and 12 months postpartum) for 100 mothers and 65 fathers.