Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (661 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Persons functioning as natural, adoptive, or substitute parents. The heading includes the concept of parenthood as well as preparation for becoming a parent.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Parent; Parental Age; Age, Parental; Ages, Parental; Parental Ages; Parenthood Status; Status, Parenthood; Step-Parents.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Family; Persons
- Narrower topics
- Fathers; Gestational Carriers; Mothers; Single Parent
- See also
- Single Parent; Child of Impaired Parents; Parental Consent; Parental Notification
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 165,953 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Parents” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 52,875 of them (31.9%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 57,189 records.
Reviews account for 11,087 records (6.7%) and meta-analyses for 1,282. Randomized controlled trials number 7,287 (4.4%) as a share of all records on the topic.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 29,641 |
| 2000-2009 | 26,248 |
| 2010-2019 | 57,189 |
| 2020 onward | 52,875 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 11,087 | 6.7% |
| Meta-analyses | 1,282 | 0.8% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 7,287 | 4.4% |
Method: PubMed query "Parents"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in psychiatry and psychology
Research on mental health and behaviour relies on questionnaires, interviews and rating scales rather than physical measurements, so how a condition was defined and measured shapes every result. Many studies are observational or small, placebo responses can be large, and findings in one group or culture may not carry over to another. Nothing on this page is advice about diagnosis or treatment; anyone worried about their mental health should talk to a qualified clinician. Check how outcomes were measured, who took part and how long they were followed.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal influences on infant gut microbiome and health | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 4 | cc by PMID 42587158 · DOI · PMC13626959 |
| Mutual positive engagement with mother is uniquely associated with increases in human infant heart rate variability | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42779437 · DOI · PMC13601893 |
| Psychometric evaluation of the Brazilian version of the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale - Research Short-Form for Global Crises (PSAS-BR-RSF-C) | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 1 | cc by PMID 42799783 · DOI · PMC13615903 |
Maternal influences on infant gut microbiome and health [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The establishment of the infant gut microbiome is critical for later health1,2, yet how it is shaped by maternal and early-life factors remains unclear.
- Closing excerpt
- Overall, we highlight the central role of the mother and her microbiome in shaping the infant gut ecosystem and early health outcomes.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (228 words)
The establishment of the infant gut microbiome is critical for later health1,2, yet how it is shaped by maternal and early-life factors remains unclear. Here we metagenomically sequenced 4,526 longitudinal faecal samples from 714 mother-infant pairs in the Dutch birth cohort Lifelines NEXT, spanning 12 weeks of pregnancy to 1 year postpartum. We integrated these data with 474 clinical and exposure variables, and with ultra-deep sequencing of breast milk and vaginal microbiomes. We observe that the maternal gut microbiome undergoes only subtle changes during pregnancy and postpartum, influenced by diet, infections and pre-pregnancy smoking. The maternal gut microbiome is a major reservoir for infant gut strains, with only occasional transmission from vaginal and breast milk microbiomes. Mother-infant gut strain sharing is time dependent, and higher maternal gut species abundance increases the likelihood of strain transmission. We find that the maternal gut microbiome is a predictor of infant eczema. Mode of delivery and feeding mode primarily shaped the infant gut microbiome and its functional profiles, with maternal exposures also having a role. Of 585 vaginally delivered infants, 155 were born at home, but home delivery was only moderately associated with infant gut microbiome composition, similar to other birth parameters such as duration of pushing and ruptured membranes. Overall, we highlight the central role of the mother and her microbiome in shaping the infant gut ecosystem and early health outcomes.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42587158 · DOI · PMC13626959
Mutual positive engagement with mother is uniquely associated with increases in human infant heart rate variability [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The ability of human infants to dynamically adapt their physiological states to changing social demands is critical for the development of emotion regulation.
- Closing excerpt
- This article is part of the theme issue 'Mechanisms, development, phylogeny and functions of emotional expressions'.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (213 words)
The ability of human infants to dynamically adapt their physiological states to changing social demands is critical for the development of emotion regulation. We investigated infant parasympathetic dynamics related to emotion regulation-changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)-using a large sample of 974 at-risk infant-mother dyads (infant age: 4 months). Infant RSA was elevated during bouts of positive engagement matching with their mothers, characterized by mutual positive engagement. Specifically, infant RSA began to increase more than 5 seconds before the onset of bouts of positive engagement matching and remained elevated for at least 4 seconds after bout onsets. These periods were substantially extended when the bouts began with positive expressions from the mother. Strikingly, there were no increases in infant RSA before or during bouts of either infant or mother solo positive engagement. Findings from these exploratory analyses suggest the possibility of bi-directional associations between ongoing social interactions and infant parasympathetic reactivity in which positive mother expressions support increases in infant RSA that in turn support prolonged infant engagement in mutual positivity. Thus, early social interaction is not simply an elicitor of infant positive expressions. Instead, mutual positive expressivity may facilitate infant neurophysiological changes that underlie emotion regulation. This article is part of the theme issue 'Mechanisms, development, phylogeny and functions of emotional expressions'.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42779437 · DOI · PMC13601893
Psychometric evaluation of the Brazilian version of the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale - Research Short-Form for Global Crises (PSAS-BR-RSF-C) [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- PurposeAnxiety symptoms are highly prevalent during the postpartum period; however, validated instruments to measure postpartum-specific anxiety in Brazil are lacking.
- Closing excerpt
- The instrument offers a brief, culturally adapted tool for researchers and clinicians assessing postpartum anxiety in Brazil, including during global health crises.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (220 words)
PurposeAnxiety symptoms are highly prevalent during the postpartum period; however, validated instruments to measure postpartum-specific anxiety in Brazil are lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale - Research Short-Form for Global Crises (PSAS-BR-RSF-C) in a Brazilian sample.MethodsA convenience sample of 189 Brazilian mothers of infants aged 0 to 12 months completed the PSAS-BR-RSF-C, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), and the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) online. Spearman correlations, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with Diagonally Weighted Least Squares estimation, and McDonald's omega reliability indices were calculated.ResultsCFA supported the four-factor structure proposed for the original instrument (CFI = 0.978; TLI = 0.970; RMSEA = 0.060 [90% CI: 0.035-0.083]; SRMR = 0.077). The PSAS-BR-RSF-C total score showed moderate-to-strong and significant correlations with measures of anxiety (GAD-7; r = .52), depression (EPDS; r = .61), and self-criticism (SCS; r = .52), demonstrating good convergent validity. Overall internal consistency was satisfactory (McDonald's ω = 0.85).ConclusionThese findings provide initial support for the validity and overall internal consistency of the PSAS-BR-RSF-C in Brazilian postpartum samples, while indicating that the reliability of some factor scores warrants further investigation. The instrument offers a brief, culturally adapted tool for researchers and clinicians assessing postpartum anxiety in Brazil, including during global health crises.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42799783 · DOI · PMC13615903
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article The influence of parental practices on child promotive and preventive food consumption behaviors: a systematic review and meta-analysis [4]
- Research article Parenting interventions to promote early child development in the first three years of life: A global systematic review and meta-analysis [5]
- Research article Health impacts of parental migration on left-behind children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis [6]
- Research article A Meta-Analysis of Maternal Prenatal Depression and Anxiety on Child Socioemotional Development [7]
- Research article Interventions to Improve Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy and Resultant Breastfeeding Rates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [8]
- Research article Health Outcomes of Parents of Children with Chronic Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [9]
Full-text reviews on EvidenceLib
Open-access review articles about this topic, reproduced in full with authors, licence and references.
Children with a rare congenital genetic disorder: a systematic review of parent experiences
Charlotte von der Lippe, Ingrid Neteland, Kristin Billaud Feragen · Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases 2022 · CC BY 4.0
References
- Sinha T, Brushett S, Fernández-Pato A, Garmaeva S, Andreu-Sánchez S, Spreckels JE, et al.. Maternal influences on infant gut microbiome and health. . 2026. PMID 42587158 · DOI · PMC13626959
- Abney DH, Sheinkopf SJ, Mitsven SG, Seifer R, Lester BM, Tronick EZ, et al.. Mutual positive engagement with mother is uniquely associated with increases in human infant heart rate variability. . 2026. PMID 42779437 · DOI · PMC13601893
- Gerhardt BC, Zimmer C, Serra J, Souza Torres de Araújo KM, Fallon V, Silverio SA, et al.. Psychometric evaluation of the Brazilian version of the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale - Research Short-Form for Global Crises (PSAS-BR-RSF-C). . 2026. PMID 42799783 · DOI · PMC13615903
- Yee AZ, Lwin MO, Ho SS. The influence of parental practices on child promotive and preventive food consumption behaviors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017. PMID 28399881 · DOI · PMC5387370
- Jeong J, Franchett EE, Ramos de Oliveira CV, Rehmani K, Yousafzai AK. Parenting interventions to promote early child development in the first three years of life: A global systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Med. 2021. PMID 33970913 · DOI · PMC8109838
- Fellmeth G, Rose-Clarke K, Zhao C, Busert LK, Zheng Y, Massazza A, et al.. Health impacts of parental migration on left-behind children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2018. PMID 30528471 · DOI · PMC6294734
- Madigan S, Oatley H, Racine N, Fearon RMP, Schumacher L, Akbari E, et al.. A Meta-Analysis of Maternal Prenatal Depression and Anxiety on Child Socioemotional Development. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018. PMID 30196868 · DOI
- Brockway M, Benzies K, Hayden KA. Interventions to Improve Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy and Resultant Breastfeeding Rates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Hum Lact. 2017. PMID 28644764 · DOI
- Cohn LN, Pechlivanoglou P, Lee Y, Mahant S, Orkin J, Marson A, et al.. Health Outcomes of Parents of Children with Chronic Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Pediatr. 2020. PMID 31916997 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.