Diabetic Women Suffer Higher Risk of Depression During and After Pregnancy

Study shows that pregnant women or even new moms who are diagnosed for having diabetes are more exposed to the risk of suffering depression during and after pregnancy than those healthy women without diabetes. During their prenatal period or most commonly known as the last few months of women’s pregnancy and after a year of giving birth, 2 out of 10 new mothers are affected by depression and 1 to 2 out of 10 pregnant women are complicated by diabetes. The study also confirmed that many depressive disorders are connected of having diabetes for the most adult populations.

Katy Backes Kozhimannil, M.P.A. of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston analyzed that depression during in the prenatal period of low-income women and diabetes are both connected. Information from New Jersey´s Medicaid administrative said that the researchers examined 11,024 women who were enrolled in Medicaid six months before and a year after delivery.

Study shows that depression are very much closer to those women who suffered from diabetes of any types during their pregnancy or postpartum. In addition to an analysis, the age, year of delivery, preterm birth and race also give an effect from suffering depressive disorders. This gives strong evidence that women with diabetes are more prone of suffering depression than women without diabetes. About 15.2 percent of diabetic women are prescribed to take an antidepressant drug compared to 8.5 percent of women without diabetes. This connection persists in any types of diabetes.

Diabetic women who don’t show any signs of depression during pregnancy, the tendency for them to suffer from a depressive disorder has been increased with the rate of 9.6 % when compared to women without diabetes with only 5.9%.

Authors write quotes linking the relationship between pregnancy and depression—“it is where the pregnancy and the postpartum period are the time where the vulnerability to depression is increased”. Although prenatal depression is treatable when diagnosed yet women should give it an importance by detecting it earlier as much as possible.

Studies prepared to test the interventions’ impact that targets those women who are more prone for depressive disorders during the prenatal period. It could also give a helpful input to make policy. It is critical to give careful monitoring and proper treatment to ensure mother and her child’s health and safety especially those who suffer from depression, diabetes or even other mental or physical health conditions that affects the normal progress and process of pregnancy and postpartum recovery.