1 in 7 Pregnant Women Suffer from Depression, Says New Study

In a recent press release, a new Kaiser Permanente study revealed that more than 1 in 7 women who are pregnant get depressed. Depression can occur up to nine months before they become pregnant, during pregnancy, or within the first nine months after childbirth.

There are frequent reports of postpartum depression. This study confirms that it's a concern. Researchers studied data from over 4,300 women who had given birth between 1998 and 2001. Whether before, during, or after pregnancy, 15.4 percent of women suffered from depression. Clearly more attention needs to be paid to pregnancy and depression because of the ill effects it can have on the entire family unit as well as the mother.

Nearly three-fourths of the women studied had been depressed earlier in their lives, before becoming pregnant. Half of these women became depressed during their pregnancy according to the study. Women who have ever suffered from depression have a greater risk of becoming depressed during or after childbirth.

Of the women in the study group, 8.7 percent were considered to be depressed in the nine months before they became pregnant; 6.9 percent were depressed while they were pregnant; and 10.4 percent suffered from postpartum depression.

Nearly all (93.4 percent) of the women who were depressed before, during, or after their pregnancy sought medical help. Antidepressant use was common - 77 percent of the women took antidepressants before their pregnancy, 67 percent took them during their pregnancy, and 82 percent

The most common antidepressant used were those in the Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants (SSRIs) class. The researchers noted that their study occurred before the possible side effects of SSRIs on the fetus were known.

Every year, over 400,000 women develop postpartum depression. Postpartum depression can be a serious illness. Women can have problems bonding with their child, properly caring for all of their children, relating to her husband. Even everyday activities can become burdensome.