Stress and lack of support puts expectant moms at risk.

Some expectant mothers are more prone to depression than others. A University of Michigan study reports that factors such as stress, mental health history, social support and whether a pregnancy was planned contribute to putting a woman at risk for depression during pregnancy.

This is important because women who are depressed have higher risk for dangerous complications during pregnancy. In fact, attending doctors are being encouraged to identify depression and its risk factors to minimize pregnancy complications.

Dr. Christie Lancaster, the study’s lead author and lecturer at the University of Michigan Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology says, “Depression has been associated with adverse outcomes for both mom and baby, including pre-term delivery, pre-eclampsia, sleep disturbances for both mom and baby, and maternal-infant attachment effects, in addition to its impact on the mother’s daily quality of life.”

Depression is experienced by almost 13 percent of pregnant women. Good news is, this complication can be treated during pregnancy. What is vital is that depression is identified early, so treatment can be administered.

Dr. Lancaster and her team of researchers had set out to study risk factors that could help doctors evaluate a patient’s risk factor for depression while pregnant. Most studies have focused on post-partum depression, but theirs is among the few that closely examine depression during pregnancy.

Their results show that maternal anxiety, stress, previous depressive episodes, lack of social support, domestic violence, unplanned pregnancy and relationship factors have a high correlation with depressive symptoms among women who are expecting.

Doctors caring for pregnant women are being urged to learn how to identify depression in pregnant women, so steps can be taken to cure their depression. This has a significant impact on the mother’s health as well as the health and outcome of the baby she is carrying.

Results of the study were published last week by the University of Michigan Health System.  At their health facility, all pregnant patients are screened for depression during pregnancy even though not all women with a positive screening test will have or develop clinical depression.

Dr. Lancaster says, “We are hoping that providers (doctors) can use the presence or absence of risk factors such as those identified in our study to enhance their assessments for depression in addition to the information that they obtain from the screening test.”

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