Today is Fight For Preemies Day, hosted by the March of Dimes.More than 400bloggers across the country are writing about prematurity, and how important it is for babies to make it full term before they are born. Why is preterm birth a problem? Because it can lead to lifelong health problemsand sometimes death.

Postpartum Progress is joining in the fight today for good reason. Prematurityis a relevant subject for people in the perinatal mood and anxiety community, as depression and anxiety during pregnancy can lead to preterm birth, as can antidepressants taken during pregnancy.

A research study published last year found that moms with depression during pregnancy had a higher risk of preterm birth. As reported on Health.com:

"Depressed moms-to-be are more likely than nondepressed women to have a preterm birth—and the worse their mood, the greater their risk, says a new study published in Human Reproduction. In fact, women in the study who were severely depressed during early pregnancy more than doubled their risk of giving birth to premature babies.

The reasons why aren’t entirely clear, but the researchers don’t think antidepressants are to blame. Only 1.5% of women were taking the drugs during pregnancy, and excluding them from the study didn’t change the results."

On the other hand, a different study from Denmark published this year found, as have other studies,that women who take antidepressants during pregnancy are also at a higher risk of their babies being born prematurely.

Yet anotherpiece of research hasfound that the risk of preterm birth for those with depression who take SSRIs and those who are depressed and don't receive treatment is about the same. According to an article from Medscape:

"Pregnant women with major depression have a 1-in-5 risk of preterm delivery, regardless of whether they are taking continuous serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or receive no treatment for depression.

In a prospective study published online March 16 [2009]in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Katherine L. Wisner, MD, from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, in Pennsylvania, report that women who took SSRIs throughout gestation had a preterm birth risk of 21%. Those with continuous untreated depression during pregnancy had a preterm birth risk of 23%. The comparison group of women with neither depression nor SSRI exposure had a preterm birth rate of 6%."

What does all of this mean? First of all, don't freak out.This doesn't mean your baby is 100% guaranteed to be born prematurely. What it does mean is you needtobe aware of the potential forpreterm birth to occur.If you have depression or anxiety during your pregnancy, whether you receive treatment with medication or are untreated, you need to talk with your doctor about ways to prevent preterm birth. You need to make sure you are doing everything possible to stay healthy and get the prenatal care you need.You should consider methods of treatment like psychotherapy. And it's a good idea to learn the signs of preterm labor.

Finally, if your baby is born prematurelyand ends up in the NICU, know that the March of Dimes has great programs to support you. Visit their website to learn more.

P.S. I forgot to mention that both my sweet babies were born early. Jackson at 38 weeks and Madden at 35 weeks.