Untreated Depression as a Culprit for Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

To what extent does untreated antenatal depression lead to adverse obstetric outcomes? In an observational cohort study involving 7267 pregnant women receiving obstetric care at a single academic center from 2010 through 2013, investigators studied the relation between antenatal depression, preterm birth, and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonates. Participants underwent routine depression screening with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; those with scores ≥10 were considered screen-positive. Multivariable analysis took into account factors such as maternal age, race, tobacco use, and lifetime diagnoses of major depression or anxiety.

In all, 831 women (11%) screened positive for antenatal depression. Compared with women who did not…