Prenatal care visits and associated costs for treatment-seeking women with depressive disorders

This study aimed to determine whether a history of depressive disorders is associated with use and costs of prenatal care among pregnant women in Taiwan.

Participants were mothers with singleton births between 2004 and 2006 (N=23,290), some of whom (N=614) had received care for depression in the year before conception but not during pregnancy.

The mean number of prenatal care visits was 8.50 and associated costs were $NT 51,187 for pregnant women with a history of depressive disorders and 9.17 visits and $NT 27,998, respectively, for those without such a history. After adjustment for age, monthly income, medical conditions, and obstetric complications, mothers with a history of depression were significantly less likely to receive prenatal care (relative risk=.94, 95% confidence interval=.92-.97, p<.001). However, women with a history of depression had $NT 22,494 higher prenatal care costs than mothers without a history of depression.

Pregnant women with a history of depressive disorders had fewer prenatal care visits but higher prenatal care costs. Physicians should consider screening to identify pregnant women with a history of depressive disorders.