Symptoms of Depression and Preterm Birth Among Black Women.
Jerry John Nutor, Jaime C Slaughter-Acey, Carmen Giurgescu and 1 others
PMID 30113405WHAT IT FOUND
Black women reporting severe depressive symptoms had 84% greater probability of preterm birth after adjustment for social support and other factors.
Greater conflict with the baby's father was also associated with preterm birth.
Key findings
01Women reporting severe depressive symptoms had 84% greater probability of preterm birth after adjustment for socio-demographics and social support.
02Women reporting greater conflict with the father of the baby were 21% more likely to have preterm birth; general support and supportive father-of-baby relationship were not associated.
03In the analysed sample, 17.1% had preterm birth and 20% had CES-D scores indicating severe depressive symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The analysis used 1,207 women after 203 women with missing data were removed; the paper states these women were not different from the analysed group. Women were interviewed 24 to 48 hours after birth, and the depression question asked about the past week, so the study cannot show that depression came before preterm birth. The depression measure was self-reported and may include symptoms from the very end of pregnancy or the immediate postpartum period. The study combined all preterm births, so it does not show whether the association differs for very early or later preterm births. The sample was from one suburban hospital and excluded women with serious mental illness, intellectual disability, cognitive deficits, non-English speakers, and incarcerated women, so it may not apply to all pregnant Black women. Income was missing for 11.2% of participants, and missing values were treated as a separate category.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that treating depression will prevent preterm birth. The study measured depressive symptoms after birth and only showed an association, not that depression caused preterm birth.