ADHD in Pregnancy: Prevalence and Demographic Changes from 2016-2025
This study utilizing the Epic Cosmos dataset reveals that ADHD diagnoses among pregnant women in the United States rose exponentially from 2016 to 2025, with the highest prevalence observed in White patients and a significant increase in diagnoses among those aged 35 or older, highlighting the urgent need to evaluate the impact of this growing trend on maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
For decades, the medical understanding of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD, focused primarily on children. It was viewed as a condition that often faded as a person grew into adulthood. In recent years, however, the clinical picture has shifted dramatically. Doctors and researchers have recognized that the disorder frequently persists into adulthood, and it is increasingly being identified in women of childbearing age. This change in perspective has opened a new and critical area of inquiry: how does this condition affect pregnancy? When a pregnant person carries a diagnosis of ADHD, it raises complex questions about the health of the mother, the development of the baby, and the safety of the medications used to manage the condition. Understanding the scale of this situation is the first step toward ensuring safe care for both mother and child.
A team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health recently set out to map the landscape of this growing trend. They turned to a massive digital library of medical records known as Epic Cosmos, which aggregates data from thousands of hospitals and clinics across the United States. By looking at the records of more than thirty million pregnancies that occurred between 2016 and 2025, the team was able to track how often ADHD was diagnosed in pregnant women over a ten-year span. Their goal was not to treat patients or run new experiments, but simply to count and categorize what was already recorded in the system, providing a clear snapshot of how the situation has evolved.
The numbers they uncovered tell a story of rapid change. In 2016, the researchers found that for every thousand pregnancies, there were roughly eight and a half cases where the mother had an ADHD diagnosis. By 2025, that number had climbed to nearly thirty-five cases for every thousand pregnancies. This represents a more than fourfold increase over the decade. The data also revealed that this rise was not distributed evenly across all groups. The highest proportion of pregnant patients with an ADHD diagnosis was found among women who identified as white. Additionally, the researchers noted a significant shift in the age of the mothers; the share of pregnant women aged thirty-five or older who had an ADHD diagnosis doubled during this same ten-year period.
These findings suggest that the population of pregnant women living with ADHD is expanding quickly, bringing with it a set of challenges that doctors are only beginning to fully understand. The authors point out that this surge in diagnoses likely reflects a combination of factors, including greater social awareness of the condition in adults and a broader recognition of its symptoms. Because many women with ADHD also have other mental health conditions, the clinical picture is becoming more complex. The researchers emphasize that while they have successfully measured the rise in diagnoses, the reasons behind the increase and the specific effects on pregnancy outcomes remain areas that require deeper investigation. They caution that the data comes from electronic records, which means some details about individual patients might be missing or counted more than once if a woman had multiple pregnancies during the study period.
Despite these limitations, the study provides a crucial baseline for the medical community. The dramatic rise in ADHD diagnoses among pregnant women means that more mothers are potentially exposed to medications used to treat the condition, and more babies are being born to mothers managing this neurodevelopmental disorder. The authors argue that this trend warrants close attention. They call for further research to untangle how the illness itself, the presence of other mental health conditions, and the use of medication each contribute to the health of the mother and the newborn. As the number of affected pregnancies continues to grow, the medical field must work to optimize treatment decisions and ensure that the care provided is safe and effective for this rapidly changing demographic.
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