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The Ignored Statistic

Feeling Blue Can Happen During, After and Even Before Pregnancy

By Lisa A. Goldstein

If you're a woman who's of childbearing age – that is, between the ages of 25 and 44 – take note. A new Kaiser Permanente study, the first integrated study of maternal depression, shows that more than one in seven women are depressed at some time during the nine months before becoming pregnant, during pregnancy or in the nine months after childbirth.

The study, which appeared in the October 2007 issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry, also found that more than half of the women who experience postpartum depression have also been depressed before becoming pregnant or during pregnancy.

"These findings show we need to pay more attention to depression before pregnancy," says Dr. Evelyn Whitlock, senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and co-author of the study, in a press release. "Doctors and the public tend to focus more on postpartum depression because of the huge gap between a new mother's joyful expectations and the crushing reality of depression."

While postpartum depression is an important concern, "We also need to consider the mental health and treatment needs of the many women who are depressed right before or during their pregnancies," Dr. Whitlock says.

"If a woman has a history of depression, [she is] at risk for depression in all stages of pregnancy because of this major life transition," says Dr. Michelle Maidenberg, a psychotherapist in New York City and Westchester whose areas of specialty include women's issues and mental health.

Prior to pregnancy, depression can occur due to stress about the ability to conceive, worry about sustaining a pregnancy or even ambivalence about having a baby, Dr. Maidenberg says. Perhaps the woman is questioning whether this is the right time, the right person or whether she and her partner will be good parents to this child. Concern about how the dynamics of the couple's relationship will change with pregnancy and following childbirth is another cause of depression during this period.

Want to see more?

• Pre-baby Blues: Depression Before Baby Arrives
• Dealing with Postpartum Depression: Why Getting Help Is a Good Thing for Mom and Baby
• Feeling Blue? Depression During Pregnancy
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