TY - JOUR
T1 - Depressive symptoms during late pregnancy and early parenthood following assisted reproductive technology
AU - Monti, Fiorella
AU - Agostini, Francesca
AU - Fagandini, Piergiuseppina
AU - La Sala, Giovanni Battista
AU - Blickstein, Isaac
PY - 2009/3
Y1 - 2009/3
N2 - Objective: To evaluate the relationship between assisted reproduction technology (ART) and depressive symptoms during late pregnancy and early parenthood. Design: Case-control longitudinal study. Setting: The Center of Reproductive Medicine, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy. Patient(s): Women who conceived by ART compared with men and compared with women following spontaneous conceptions. Intervention(s): The sample of 87 subjects, 48 ART (25 mothers, 23 fathers; response rate of 30%) and 39 non-ART mothers were evaluated by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 30-32 weeks of gestation, and at 1 week and 3 months after delivery. Main Outcome Measure(s): Mean scores and prevalence of low scores. Result(s): The main sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics were similar between groups. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores were higher in ART women compared with non-ART women during all assessments and higher during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 1 week postpartum compared with ART men. The prevalence of depressed subjects was significantly higher in ART women compared with non-ART women during the antenatal assessment. Conclusion(s): Assisted reproductive technology pregnancies are more frequently associated with depressive symptoms that may persist after delivery, suggesting a greater emotional vulnerability of these women. The risk of depression during and following ART pregnancies needs monitoring to avoid adverse effects of postpartum depression on the mother-infant relationship and infant's psychologic development.
AB - Objective: To evaluate the relationship between assisted reproduction technology (ART) and depressive symptoms during late pregnancy and early parenthood. Design: Case-control longitudinal study. Setting: The Center of Reproductive Medicine, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy. Patient(s): Women who conceived by ART compared with men and compared with women following spontaneous conceptions. Intervention(s): The sample of 87 subjects, 48 ART (25 mothers, 23 fathers; response rate of 30%) and 39 non-ART mothers were evaluated by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 30-32 weeks of gestation, and at 1 week and 3 months after delivery. Main Outcome Measure(s): Mean scores and prevalence of low scores. Result(s): The main sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics were similar between groups. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores were higher in ART women compared with non-ART women during all assessments and higher during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 1 week postpartum compared with ART men. The prevalence of depressed subjects was significantly higher in ART women compared with non-ART women during the antenatal assessment. Conclusion(s): Assisted reproductive technology pregnancies are more frequently associated with depressive symptoms that may persist after delivery, suggesting a greater emotional vulnerability of these women. The risk of depression during and following ART pregnancies needs monitoring to avoid adverse effects of postpartum depression on the mother-infant relationship and infant's psychologic development.
KW - assisted reproductive techniques
KW - depression
KW - In vitro fertilization
KW - psychology
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U2 - 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.01.021
DO - 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.01.021
M3 - Article
C2 - 18314111
AN - SCOPUS:61349124330
VL - 91
SP - 851
EP - 857
JO - Fertility and Sterility
JF - Fertility and Sterility
SN - 0015-0282
IS - 3
ER -