Do depressive symptoms among pregnant women assisted in Primary Health Care services increase the risk of prematurity and low birth weight?
Anelise de Toledo Bonatti, Ana Paula Dos Santos Costa Roberto, Thais de Oliveira and 3 others
PMID 34495191WHAT IT FOUND
In 193 low-risk pregnant women, EPDS scores indicating depression were not associated with low birth weight or prematurity.
Premature labor and gestational age at labor were associated with low birth weight.
Key findings
01Forty-nine of 193 pregnant women had EPDS scores indicating depressive symptoms.
02Depressive symptom scores were not associated with low birth weight in the adjusted analysis.
03Depressive symptom scores were not associated with prematurity in the adjusted analysis.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was a convenience sample from public primary care in one Brazilian city, so it may not represent all pregnant women. Only pregnant women cared for by the public health network were included. The number of preterm births and low birth weight births was small. EPDS was applied at different gestational ages, although the authors report this did not affect the outcomes.
Declared interests
No funding or conflicts of interest were reported in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that prenatal depression is harmless to pregnancy outcomes. This study only found no association with low birth weight or prematurity in a small convenience sample of low-risk women in Brazilian public primary care.