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Antenatal Depression is Not Associated with Low-Birth Weight: A Study from Urban Pakistan
Nusrat Husain1, Tariq Munshi2, Farhat Jafri3
1Institute of Brain, Behavior and Mental Health, University of Manchester , Manchester , UK.
Background:
Low-birth weight (LBW) (<2500 g) is considered to be a leading cause of cognitive impairment and physical disabilities in children. Incidence of LBW in South Asia has been reported to be as high as 33%. We investigated the association between antenatal depression and LBW in an urban community, in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods:
A total of 1357 pregnant women in their third trimester were recruited into the study. They were screened for antenatal depression with Edinburgh postnatal depression scale. Self-reporting questionnaire was also used to measure psychological distress. Birth weights of 763 newborns were obtained from the hospital records.
Results:
We did not find a significant association between antenatal depression and LBW (odds ratio 0.881, 95%CI 0.732-1.060) in mothers attending a charity run hospital in an urban setting in Pakistan.
Conclusion:
Antenatal depression is not associated with LBW in this urban population in Pakistan. However, the prevalence of depression is high during pregnancy. There is a need to develop culturally adapted psychosocial interventions to address the high rates of depression for this population group.
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