Depressive symptoms during late pregnancy and early parenthood following assisted reproductive technology.

摘要

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 weekpostpartum 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.