Women who have unplanned pregnancies face a significantly increased risk of developing post-natal depression, researchers warn today.
The finding may help health professionals identify women at risk of problems, researchers say.
The researchers asked 688 women who were 15 to 19 weeks pregnant whether they were having an "intended", "mistimed" or "unwanted" pregnancy. About two-thirds (64%) of the pregnancies were intended, 30% were mistimed, and 6% were unwanted. The mistimed and unwanted pregnancies were categorised as unintended.
When the babies were three months old, 11% of the mothers with unintended pregnancies had postnatal depression, compared with 5% of the intended group. After a year, 550 women were followed-up. Of the unintended group, 12% had postnatal depression compared with 3% of the intended group.
The team, led by Dr Rebecca Mercier of the University of North Carolina, USA, warn that women with unintended pregnancies face a long-term risk of depression. The risk was four times higher in this group, and once age, education level and poverty were taken into account, the risk was still double.
Full results are published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Dr Mercier said: "Unintended pregnancy carried to term may have a long-term effect on women. Healthcare professionals should therefore consider asking about pregnancy at early visits, as women who report that their pregnancy was unintended or unwanted may benefit from earlier or more targeted screening both during and following pregnancy."
Louise Silverton of the UK Royal College of Midwives commented that the research flags up the importance of access to midwives.
"We are seriously short of midwives in England," she added. "The consequences of this can be serious, for women, for families and for the health service."
Mercier, J. R. et al. Pregnancy intention and postpartum depression: secondary data analysis from a prospective cohort. BJOG 8 May 2013 doi:10.1111/1471-0528.12255
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