Lift her spirits during pregnancy

An expectant mother experiencing depression is at greater risk of having a premature birth than non-depressed women and severe depression can more than double the risk, according to a study published in the journal Human Reproduction.

Nearly 1 of 8 babies is born prematurely each year in the United States. A pregnancy typically runs for about 40 weeks, but a preterm birth means the pregnancy lasts no longer than 37 weeks. Preterm babies face many medical problems and learning difficulties.

Doctors still have no accurate method of finding out who is at risk of preterm delivery. Despite long years of research, no one really understands why premature births happen or what can be done to prevent it.

Depression may be one key and effective treatment of depression may be one means to prevent preterm births, according to the research team leader, De-Kun Li, M.D., Ph.D., of the Kaiser Permanente Research Division.

Little attention has been given to depression during pregnancy, according to Dr. Li. Not only is it under diagnosed and undertreated, it is also often simply dismissed and ignored.

The study involved 791 women at various stages of pregnancy from 6 to 18 weeks, all of whom were enrolled in the managed-care plan. The researchers determined that 41.2 percent had significant depression and more than half of them (21.7 percent) were undergoing severe depression.

The research team also found that depressed women had 1.6 times greater likelihood of giving birth prematurely compared to women with no depressed moods. The women with severe depression were 2.2 times more likely to have preterm delivery. The risk of delivering preterm rose with the degree of depression.

This finding already took account of other factors that could play a role such as age, education level, and a history of preterm delivery. The team observed that women who had less education, previous fertility problems, were at least on their third pregnancy, and had previously experienced stressful events had the highest risk of depression-related preterm delivery.

The researchers could not determine the reason for the apparent link between depression and preterm birth risk. Many previous studies have also found an association between high stress and poor pregnancy outcomes because of the effects of stress on the immune system, hormones and other factors. For instance, depressed women tend to eat unhealthy diets and smoke more often.

Pregnancy itself does not increase the risk of depression. But depression during a pregnancy impacts the health of both mother and the child, and therefore it should be treated.

Safety Tips:

* Be supportive of a pregnant woman’s needs. Pregnancy is not an easy time for women: they make sacrifices and suffer all manner of discomforts. Physical and emotional support will lift their spirits and alleviate symptoms of depression.

* Seek professional help if depression is suspected. Simple therapy helps to resolve a mild depression, but medication may be needed for more severe depression.