Depression During Pregnancy Doubles Risk Of Preterm Birth

Depression in pregnant women could help explain the growing problem of preterm delivery, scientists suggest.

While post-partum depression “has long been recognized as a serious public health problem,” Kaiser Permanente researchers write, “depression during pregnancy has not been well-studied.”

It’s not clear how common depression is in pregnant women and how it affects their babies, the authors write.

“Depression during pregnancy is really under-diagnosed, both by women and by obstetricians,” lead author De-Kun Li, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research in Oakland, said in an interview.

Li and his co-authors screened women for depression about 10 weeks into their pregnancies. More than 40% reported having significant depressive symptoms, and half of those women reported having severe depressive symptoms.

A total of 791 women completed the screening and delivered a live baby. Women who, after being screened, went on to miscarry — defined as a pregnancy loss before 20 weeks’ gestation — were excluded from the analysis.

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