Background: Maternal mental disorders during pregnancy are associated with a range of adverse health outcomes for infants. Recent studies indicate the possible mechanism of maternal mental health disorders associated with fetal development through programming effect. This study aimed to systematically review the effect of antenatal mental health disorders on fetal growth. Subjects and Method: This was a systematic review. The articles were selected from PsycINFO, Medline, Web of Science, Embase, and PubMed journal databases published from July to September 2018. The keywords for this review included maternal mental health AND fetal growth, postpartum depression AND fetal growth, maternal mental health AND fetal growth AND review. As many as 11 articles were selected for this study from 575 articles. Results: Maternal mental health during pregnancy was associated with fetal head circumference growth through 2 mechanism: (1) Increased maternal stress response modifies neuroendocrine function, which included changes in cortisol regulation, adrenocorticotropic, adrenaline and noradrenaline hormones levels; and (2) Decreased 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD2) enzyme regulation in placenta. It decreased11β-HSD2 level, increased fetal glucocorticoids circulation, and affected on fetal head growth restriction. Conclusion: Maternal mental health during pregnancy is associated with fetal head circumference growth restriction. Keywords: maternal mental health, fetal head circumference, growth, systematic review Correspondence: Rina Tri Handayani. School of Health Sciences Mamba'ul 'Ulum, Surakarta, Jl. Ring Road Utara, Tawangsari, Mojosongo, Jebres, Surakarta, Central Java. Email: trihandayanirina@gmail.com: 085642224141 Journal of Maternal and Child Health (2020), 5(2): 147-153 https://doi.org/10.26911/thejmch.2020.05.02.04