The Association Between Prenatal Depression and Obstetric Outcome in Taiwan: A Prospective Study

Background and Methods: The present follow-up study aims to assess the association between depressive symptomatology during the second or third trimester of pregnancy and obstetric-neonatal outcomes in Taiwan. Follow-up evaluations of delivery and birth records in the immediate postpartum period were carried out on 265 nondepressed, 107 mildly to moderately depressed, and 59 severely depressed women and their newborns in three hospitals in Southern Taiwan. Prenatal depression was identified using the Edinburgh Perinatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The medical records of the participant women and their newborns were reviewed after delivery. Results: Prenatally depressed women reported significantly lower marital satisfaction than nondepressed women. Follow-up examination of the women's obstetric birth records revealed that prenatal depression had no statistically significant association with obstetric outcome (type of delivery, use of epidural anesthesia, or instrument-assisted delivery), nor did depression influence the neonatal outcome (incidence of prematurity, birth weight, and Apgar score). Conclusions: Prenatal depression does not lead to unfavorable obstetric outcomes. However, the finding between marital satisfaction and prenatal depression may have implications in terms of social support.