Do prenatal depressive symptoms developed by hospitalized women with high-risk pregnancy persist to post-partum?

Abstract

This study aims to explore the level of depressive symptoms during pregnancy and after childbirth comparing women hospitalized due to high-risk pregnancy (clinical group) and women with low-risk pregnancy (control group). Seventy pregnant women (26 clinical group and 44 control group) filled in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale both during pregnancy and three months after childbirth. Results showed that the clinical group reported significant higher levels of prenatal depression than the control group, while no differences were found on postnatal depression. Data highlighted that hospitalization could represents a significant stressor that can exacerbate depression in women with high-risk pregnancy.

Keywords: Depression; High-risk pregnancy; Hospitalization.