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Antepartum depressive and anxious symptoms: Association with physiological parameters of the newborn

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

D. Pereira ,
A.T. Pereira ,
J. Azevedo ,
S. Xavier ,
M.J. Soares ,
N. Madeira  and
A. Macedo
D. Pereira*
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, coimbra, Portugal Psychiatry Department, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
A.T. Pereira
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, coimbra, Portugal
J. Azevedo
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, coimbra, Portugal
S. Xavier
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, coimbra, Portugal
M.J. Soares
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, coimbra, Portugal
N. Madeira
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Department, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
A. Macedo
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Department, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The Perinatal period is a time of vulnerability for developing psychiatric disorders of higher prevalence in the female gender - depression and anxiety1. Numerous authors have proposed that maternal psychological factors could influence pregnancy course and the well-being of mother and newborn2.

Objectives

To explore the relationship between perinatal psychological disorder and physiological parameters evaluated at birth, such as the Apgar Index (AI; 1, 5 and 10 minutes), head circumference, weight, length and age.

Methods

533 women answered, in the second trimester of pregnancy (16.98±4.83 weeks of gestation), several questions about psychosocial variables, the Perinatal Depression Screening Scale3 and the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale4. Of these, 208 (39.0%) women were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview for Psychological Distress5. Newborn physiological parameters were obtained from electronic health records.

Results

AI was significantly (p<.01) and moderately (r≈.25) correlated with maternal anxious symptomatology, and with the experience of a stressful event in the last year (only AI 1 minute). Newborns of women with clinically relevant anxious symptomatology (>cutoff point, 14.6%) had significantly lower AI (p<.05), which was also observed in newborns of women who considered having had a stressful event (only AI 1 minute). Women’s newborns with maternal anxiety disorders during pregnancy (5.3%), had significantly lower values in AI, head circumference, weight and age of birth. Regression analyses showed that anxiety in pregnancy (symptoms and/or diagnoses) is a predictor of newborn physiological parameters, explaining significant percentages(r≈22%; p<.05) of its variability.

Conclusions

Early detection of psychological disorders in pregnancy, namely anxiety, is determinant to prevent adverse neonatal outcomes.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

AnxietyDepressionperinatalPsychological disorders
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S180 - S181
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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