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If you’re pregnant and are afflicted by depression you are twice as likely to deliver a premature baby than mothers-to-be who are not affected by depression.   Also, the risk of delivering a premature infant increases as the symptoms of depression progress.

In a recent study, one of the first to link depression and premature birth, examined about 791 pregnant members of Kaiser Permanente from San Francisco City and county from October 1996 till October 1998. The findings provide basic evidence that reproductive and social risk factors, stress, and obesity may agitate the depression-premature birth link.

Pregnant women in the study were not given anti-depressants and were interviewed around their 10th week of pregnancy.   They found that 41% indicated significant to severe depression symptoms.  Women who exhibited symptoms that were not as severe had a 60% higher risk of delivering a premature infant compared with those who did not display significant symptoms of depression.  In addition, women who exhibited severe depression symptoms had more than 2 times the risk of giving birth prematurely.

According to Dr. De-Kun Li, a reproductive and preinatal epidemiologist from Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research in Oakland, said, “Preterm delivery is the leading cause of infant mortality and yet we don’t know what causes it.  What we do know is that a healthy pregnancy requires a healthy placenta, and that placental function is influenced by the brain.”