The odds triple for premature child delivery pregnant women with a history of depression who used psychiatric medication, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Washington, University of Michigan and Michigan State University found that a combination of medication use and depression - either before or during pregnancy - was strongly linked to delivery before 35 weeks' gestation.
Amelia Gavin, lead author and UW assistant professor of social work, said the findings highlight the need for carefully planned studies that can clarify associations between depression, psychiatric medications and preterm delivery.
"Women with depression face difficult decisions regarding the benefits and risks of using psychotropic medications in pregnancy," Gavin said. "Therefore, a focus on disentangling medication effects and depression effects on mother and offspring health should be a major clinical priority."
"Medication use may be an indicator of depressive symptom severity, which is a direct or indirect contributing factor to pre-term delivery," added Kristine Siefert, co-author and a Michigan professor of social work.
Most physicians initiated preterm deliveries after the women suffered complications, such as pre-eclampsia, poor fetal growth or acute hemorrhage.
The study examined the associations among maternal depression, psychiatric medication use in pregnancy and preterm delivery among women in five Michigan communities who received prenatal care at one of 52 participating clinics between September 1998 and June 2004These women had to be at least 15 years old, with no history of diabetes, and were 15 to 27 weeks pregnant.