P3B348: Risk Factors for Postpartum Depression and Effect on Child Development

Background: Addressing the mental health of women in the postpartum period is of the utmost importance to relieve the suffering of not just the mother, but to promote the cognitive, social, and emotional health of the child as well. In the weeks after birth, women experiencing Postpartum Depression (PPD) are less likely to breastfeed, less likely to follow safety recommendations, attend fewer well-child visits, and use less healthy sleep practices for their infant. It is estimated by the American Academy of Psychiatry (AAP) that 1 in 7 women experience PPD. The etiology of the illness is unclear which emphasizes the need to identify risk factors. In coordination with Any Woman Can, a pregnancy crisis center, women are screened for Postpartum Depression two weeks after their due date. Women who screen positive are given free education and resources to receive counseling to prevent the negative effects that could come to the baby.

Methods: Medical students called women 2-4 weeks after their baby’s due dates. The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ2) was used to initially screen for depressive symptoms. A score of 2+ led to additional screening using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Women who screened positive were encouraged to talk to their Obstetrician and referred to counseling. Epidemiological data, including mean age of mother, intention to parent, education level, gestational age, marital status, planned pregnancy, and income, was collected from Any Woman Can and was analyzed using STATA.

Results: Starting October 2020, 103 women were screened, and epidemiological data reported. To date, 19.4% of women screened positive for PPD which is higher than the 14.29% reported by the AAP. When screening for risk factors associated with PPD, education level, initial intention, and planned pregnancy showed statistically significant different outcomes between +PPD and -PPD. Other potential risk factors such as mean age of mother, gestational age, income, and marital status were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: While the 19.4% positive rate is higher than estimated by the APA, results could have been affected by a smaller sample or a pre-screening bias. The population screened in the study were at a much higher likelihood of having multiple risk factors associated with postpartum depression as they received care from a pregnancy care center. Examples of risk factors include low income and education. In the future, this study would like to look into previous mental health diagnoses and further inquire about the delivery experience.