Depression during gestation in adolescent mothers interferes with neonatal neurobehavior

Abstract

Objective: To compare the neurobehavior of neonates born to adolescent mothers with and without depression during gestation. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study included healthy term neonates born to adolescent mothers with untreated depression during gestation, without exposure to legal or illicit drugs, and compared them with infants born to adolescent mothers without psychiatric disorders. Maternal psychiatric diagnoses were assessed by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 2.1) and neonatal neurobehavior by the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) at 24 to 72 hours of life. Neurobehavioral outcomes were analyzed by ANOVA adjusted for confounders. Results: 37 infants born to mothers with depression during gestation were compared to 332 infants born to mothers without psychiatric disorders. Infants of mothers with depression had smaller head circumferences. Significant interactions of maternal depression and male gender, gestational age . 40 weeks, regional anesthesia during delivery, vaginal delivery, and infant head circumference o 34 cm were found. Worse performance was noted in the following neonatal neurobehavioral parameters: arousal, excitability, lethargy, hypotonicity, and signs of stress and abstinence. Conclusion: Infants born to adolescent mothers with depression exhibit some behavioral changes in the first days of life. These changes are associated with infant sex, gestational age, type of anesthesia, mode of delivery, and head circumference.

A reterospective study of maternal and fetal outcome of adolescent pregnancy in Kawthaung province, Myanmar

“…So that these subjects were not divided into subgroups. When classified as low birth weight, like many international studies 8,9,13,17 , including the present study, reported that teenage mothers had considerably high rate of low birth weight than that in the adult mothers which are 11.6% and 3% respectively. Furthermore, some pregnancy complications in teenage mother such as anemia, PROM, eclampsia, premature labor, and emergency cesarean section attributed to low birth weight babies among them.In order to reduce the risk factors of low birth weight babies among teenage pregnancies, the holistic approaches such as health education, maternal nutrition, improvement in socio-economic indices, and increasing the quality and quantity of the antenatal care services are importance.…”

Association of decreased serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentrations in early pregnancy with antepartum depression

“…Antepartum depression is of concern because it has been linked to negative health-related behaviors and outcomes, including poor nutrition, increased substance use, inadequate prenatal care, preeclampsia, preterm delivery, postnatal depression, and suicide [ 8 - 16 ]. Infants delivered of women with untreated antepartum depression are at increased risk of preterm delivery, growth restriction, low birth weight, and other neonatal complications [ 17 - 23 ].…”