Bibliometric analysis of parental anxiety and postpartum depression across the perinatal period from 1920-2020: A protocol

ABSTRACT Introduction Throughout the perinatal period from pregnancy to the first year postpartum, both men and women experience significant physical, psychological, and social changes which may increase their risk of a mental illness, including anxiety and depression. There has been significant growth in the frequency literature around anxiety and depression across the perinatal period over the past decades with significant variation in definition, measurement outcomes, and populations. To focus future research and identify gaps, it is important to explore current patterns and trends in the current literature. Objective The objective of this bibliometric analysis is to analyze the characteristics and trends in published research on anxiety and depression across the perinatal period from January 1, 1920 to end of 2020. Inclusion criteria All published literature in Web of Science on perinatal anxiety and depression from January 1, 1920 to December 31, 2020. Methods Web of Science will be used to analyze bibliometric information through their built-in analysis feature and citation report that generates a list of leading publications, publication years, document types, authors, source titles, countries/regions, organizations, and research areas. VOSViewer will be utilized to analyze and visualize the networks of linkages between the identified reports, including bibliometric networks, including co-authorship, co-occurrence, and co-citation, as well as co-occurrence between keywords. Conclusion The findings from this study will provide useful information to guide future work on perinatal anxiety and depression. This bibliometric review will provide an overview of the work to date in perinatal mental health, identify key contributions to the field, and identify knowledge gaps and future directions.