The American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology's January 2010 issue published the results of a review of 57 different studies that found that risk factors may be easily identified during routine OB exams that could predict depession during pregnancy, also known as antepartum depression. The review was conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan.
"Factors associated with a greater likelihood of antepartum depressive symptoms in bivariate analyses were maternal anxiety, life stress, history of depression, lack of social support, unintended pregnancy, Medicaid insurance, domestic violence, lower income, lower education, smoking, single status, and poor relationship quality …
'Future work should address how well our current obstetric screening forms capture these constructs and how we can use risk factor identification to improve screening efficiency and accuracy and to enhance our clinical assessments during pregnancy,' the study authors conclude."
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