Screening prenatal depression to assess childbirth and neonatal complications: a cohort study

Background & Aims: The prevalence of the mood or anxiety disorders during pregnancy is reported to be 18.2 %. This study aimed to investigate the effect of prenatal depression on childbirth and neonatal complications.
Materials & Methods: This cohort study selected 600 pregnant mothers who were referred to Kamali Alborz hospital in 2021 as the participants. These 600 pregnant women were classified into three groups including: the group of pregnant mothers without depression whose Beck score was below 10, the group of pregnant mothers with untreated prenatal depression whose Beck score was above 16, and the group of pregnant mothers with prenatal depression who were treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). There were 200 participants in each of the above-mentioned groups. These groups were compared with each other in terms of preterm labor, cesarean section, abortion, preeclampsia, birth weight, Apgar, and NICU hospitalization status.
Results: In our study, the number of infants with low birth weight in the group of mothers with untreated prenatal depression was higher than the number of these infants in the group of normal mothers (P < 0.05). Nonetheless, there was not a significant difference between the groups in terms of the premature births (P = 0.092). The rate of cesarean section was higher in the group of mothers with untreated prenatal depression compared to the group of mothers who were treated with SSRIs. Moreover, this rate in both of these groups was higher than cesarian section rate in the group of the normal mothers (P < 0.05). The number of the infants who were hospitalized in the NICU was significantly higher in the SSRIs group (P < 0.05) compared to the other groups. Finally, the number of infants with 1-minute Apgar < 7 was significantly higher in the group of mothers who were treated with SSRIs than the group of normal mothers (P = 0.126).
Conclusion: According to the results, cesarean section, premature birth, birth weight, and abortion were more satisfactory in the group of non-depressed mothers and the group of the depressed mothers who were treated with SSRIs in comparison with the group of the depressed mothers with untreated depression.