Women with unintended pregnancy are four times more likely to suffer from postpartum depression at 12 months postpartum, a new study has suggested.
The study, conducted at the University of North Carolina prenatal clinics, asked participants about pregnancy intention at 15-19 weeks gestational age, and women were classified as having an intended, mistimed or unwanted pregnancy.
Data were analysed for 688 women at three months and 550 women at 12 months.
There were 433 women (64%) with intended pregnancy, 207 (30%) with a mistimed pregnancy and 40 (6%) with an unwanted pregnancy.
Unintended pregnancy was classified as both mistimed and unwanted pregnancies.
Results showed that postpartum depression was more likely in women with unintended pregnancies at both three months (11% vs 5 %) and 12 months (12 % vs 3 %).
E-Paper
