Postpartum Depressive Symptoms: Gestational Weight Gain as a Risk Factor for Adolescents Who Are Overweight or Obese.
Shayna D Cunningham, Shilpa Mokshagundam, Hannah Chai and 4 others
PMID 29569357WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescent mothers who entered pregnancy overweight or obese and gained more than recommended had higher postpartum depressive symptom scores, about 2.4 to 2.6 points more on a 45-point scale.
No increased risk was seen for underweight or healthy-weight mothers who gained excessively.
Key findings
01Adolescents who entered pregnancy overweight or obese and gained excessive weight had postpartum depressive symptom scores 2.4 and 2.6 points higher, respectively, on a 0 to 45 scale.
02Adolescents who entered pregnancy underweight or at healthy weight and gained excessive weight did not have increased postpartum depressive symptoms.
03Adolescents who gained gestational weight within clinically recommended guidelines were not at risk for increased postpartum depressive symptoms, regardless of pre-pregnancy BMI.
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 limited to young, predominantly low-income, minority adolescents receiving prenatal care in urban community clinics, so it may not apply to older or higher-income mothers. Women with missing data were excluded, and those excluded had higher postpartum depressive symptoms, so the estimates may be conservative. Pre-pregnancy height and weight and depressive symptoms relied on self-report, which can be inaccurate. The study did not collect other depression measures, prior depression history, or some psychosocial and sociocultural factors. Average postpartum depressive symptom scores were below the level considered clinically concerning. The timing of measurements did not allow the researchers to determine whether excessive weight gain preceded depression or whether the relationship was bidirectional.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article metadata indicates NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that excessive gestational weight gain causes postpartum depression or that preventing weight gain will prevent it. This was an association in adolescent mothers, and the study could not establish causal sequence.