Depression Is Common in Pregnancy
Left untreated, mother and baby both face risks

(HealthDay News) -- Actress Brooke Shields' frank revelation that she suffered from postpartum depression helped boost awareness of the difficulties women can encounter after the birth of a child.

But how many women know that depression can strike before they conceive or while they're pregnant?

Roughly 15 percent of women will experience depression in the months before, during or after pregnancy, according to a report in The American Journal of Psychiatry .

Because of this, said Patricia Dietz, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Reproductive Health and lead author of the study, women should be screened for the mood disorder.

"There are a lot of women who are becoming pregnant with depression, and that's really important for people providing prenatal care to be aware of," Dietz told HealthDay .

Depression and pregnancy combine to create a serious medical issue. Without treatment, depression can worsen and do harm to the baby or mother, according to the University of Michigan Depression Center. And women who are depressed during pregnancy and fail to get treatment are more likely to experience postpartum depression, it said.

Studies show that untreated depression can lead to higher rates of miscarriage, low birth weight and babies who are small for their gestational age, says the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists, an organization that provides information on the effects of medications on the fetus.

Women who have depression and are planning to get pregnant should talk to their doctor, counselor or therapist about their plans, the organization advises. The doctors can review a woman's current mental health-care treatments and determine what effects any drugs she's taking could have on her pregnancy.

Most medications for depression, however, have not been linked to high risk for birth defects, the organization adds. What's more, stopping your medication during pregnancy could lead to a relapse.

For the study, Dietz and colleagues collected data on 4,393 women who gave birth in a three-year period. The prevalence of depression was similar: 8.7 percent had it in the nine months before becoming pregnant, 6.9 percent suffered from depression during pregnancy, and 10.4 percent experienced it in the nine months after giving birth.

More than half of the women who had depression before they became pregnant were depressed during pregnancy. And almost 75 percent with postpartum depression had depression before they were pregnant.

Depression in pregnancy is characterized by two or more weeks of depressed mood, according to University of Michigan experts. Other symptoms can include:

• Decreased pleasure or interest in activities.
• Change in appetite.
• Change in sleep patterns.
• Fatigue or loss of energy.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Excessive feelings of guilt or worthlessness.
• Thoughts of suicide.
• Extreme restlessness or irritability.

Dietz urges women to report any symptoms they may experience and encourages doctors to inquire. "It is sometimes difficult to even bring depression up," she told HealthDay . "But doctors should ask."

On the Web

To learn more about depression during pregnancy, visit the March of Dimes online.

SOURCES: HealthDay News; Patricia Dietz, Dr.P.H., epidemiologist, Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta; October 2007, American Journal of Psychiatry ; University of Michigan Depression Center, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Organization of Teratology Information Specialists, Tucson, Ariz.
Author: Karen Pallarito
Publication Date: Sept. 30, 2008
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.