Research to real-world impact: evidence-based knowledge mobilization to improve support for UK women veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma.

Maternal mental health in the postpartum period is a key determinant of maternal well-being and early child development, particularly during the first 1,000 days of life [,]. Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common non-psychotic depressive episode occurring after childbirth and can include emotional, behavioural and physiological symptoms that persist for months []. The postpartum (maternity) blues are a transient emotional disturbance affecting up to 83% of women and usually resolve without treatment; however, unrecognised or persistent distress may progress to PPD []. Postpartum psychosis is rare but constitutes a psychiatric emergency []. PPD can compromise mother-infant bonding, reduce breastfeeding, and disrupt parenting practices, and it is associated with adverse child developmental outcomes []. It is also linked to increased risk of family conflict and reduced maternal quality of life []. These consequences strengthen the case for preventive and early-response strategies, especially where access to specialist mental health services is limited. Globally, PPD affects an estimated 17.2% of women, with prevalence varying by care practices, screening thresholds and diagnostic approaches []. In Russia, one study reported a prevalence of 34.3% []. Evidence from circumpolar settings remains limited and methodologically heterogeneous: studies from Iceland, Greenland and Norway report rates of 6.5%, 8.6% and 10%, respectively []. In Arctic Russia, population-based prevalence estimates remain unavailable; however, local data from Arkhangelsk indicate that 21.2% of women screened positive for depressive symptoms in the early postpartum period using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) [].