The association between symptoms of depression during pregnancy and low birth weight: a prospective study

Abstract

Background: Most studies have showed that maternal depression is associated with pregnancy complications. However, there were limited evidences in Chinese population. We examined the associations of antenatal depression symptoms with pregnancy outcomes, especially for low birth weight. Methods: A total of 1377 singleton pregnant women were recruited from Nanshan Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital of Shenzhen in this prospective cohort study. Depression symptoms were assessed by the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) questionnaire in the second trimester of gestation; cut-points for the indication of antenatal depression were ≧12 scores in this study. Socio-demographic data, life-style and pregnancy outcomes were collected through Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare database. The risks of adverse outcomes in pregnant women with antenatal depression were determined by multivariate logistic regression and represented as odds ratio(OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Of the 1377 subjects, the prevalence of antenatal depression was 19.1%. The EPDS scores were 13.8 ± 2.0 and 6.5 ± 2.9 (P < 0.001) in subjects with and without antenatal depression, respectively. After adjustment for maternal age, education, parity, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), residential area, fetal gender, an EPDS score ≥ 12 (versus. < 12) was associated with an increased risk for low birth weight (odds ratio: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.12-4.64), but not for preterm birth, large for gestational age, small for gestational age or macrosomia. Conclusion: Pregnant women presenting antenatal depressive symptoms are at elevated risk of low birth weight. Mental health problems of pregnancy should be addressed for the prevention of low birth weight.

Association of pre-pregnancy body mass index with adverse pregnancy outcome among first-time mothers

“…It was reported that the risk of PTB in women with pre-pregnancy high BMI was significantly increased ( Baeten, Bukusi & Lambe, 2001 ; Chen, Chen & Hsu, 2020 ; Cnattingius et al, 1998 ; Cnattingius et al, 2013 ; Weiss et al, 2004 ; Zhou et al, 2019 ), whereas other studies contradicted this result, suggesting that women with a high pre-pregnancy BMI could have a protective impact on PTB ( Chen et al, 2013 ; Khashan & Kenny, 2009 ; Sebire et al, 2001 ). Furthermore, similar results have also been reported on association between pre-pregnancy BMI and LBW ( Li et al, 2020 ; Ronnenberg et al, 2003a ; Wu et al, 2020 ). However, there are relatively few studies of the effects of pre-pregnancy BMI on subsequent pregnancies for first-time mothers among Southern Chinese women.…”

Peer Review #1 of "Association of pre-pregnancy body mass index with adverse pregnancy outcome among first-time mothers (v0.2)"

“…It was reported that the risk of PTB in women with pre-pregnancy high BMI was significantly increased (Baeten et al 2001;Chen et al 2020;Cnattingius et al 1998;Cnattingius et al 2013;Weiss et al 2004;Zhou et al 2019), whereas other studies contradicted this result, suggesting that women with a high pre-pregnancy BMI could have a protective impact on PTB (Chen et al 2013;Khashan & Kenny 2009;Sebire et al 2001). Furthermore, similar results have also been reported on association between pre-pregnancy BMI and LBW (Li et al 2020;Ronnenberg et al 2003a;Wu et al 2020).…”

Maternal sleep duration and neonatal birth weight: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study

“…This may be because >10 h of MSD might be affected by maternal diseases, conditions, and behaviors, such as depression, excessive mental stress, and use of sleeping pills, 24,47,48 which may potentially decrease the neonatal birth weight. [49][50][51] Moreover, because too long MSD may have other unfavorable effects including excessive BWG, 32,33 we do not suggest that pregnant women should have >10 h of sleep.…”