Common symptoms during pregnancy to predict depression and health status 14 years post partum

To examine the prospective association between symptoms commonly experienced during pregnancy and the mental and general health status of women 14 years post partum.

Data used were from the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy, a community-based prospective birth cohort study begun in Brisbane, Australia, in 1981. Logistic regression analyses were conducted.

Data were available for 5118 women. Women who experienced a higher burden of symptoms during pregnancy were at greater risk of becoming depressed and reporting poorer health status 14 years post partum. Women who experienced major problems during pregnancy were 4 times more likely to be depressed and nearly 8 times more likely to report poorer health status 14 years after the index pregnancy compared with women who experienced few problems.

Findings suggest that pregnant women who experience common symptoms during pregnancy are likely to experience poorer mental and self-reported general health 14 years after the pregnancy.