Miscarriage depression present even after healthy birth

Depression arising from a miscarriage can continue to affect women even when they go on to have a healthy baby, a study has found.

A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry said there was no evidence to support the belief that mental health problems associated with miscarriage or stillbirth end with the birth of a healthy baby.

As many as 90,000 women in the UK each year have a miscarriage or stillbirth. Up to 20 per cent of pregnancies end in miscarriage, the loss of pregnancy before 24 weeks. Stillbirth - the loss of a pregnancy after 24 weeks - happens in around 0.5 per cent of pregnancies.

Researchers from the UK and US studied more than 13,000 women who were pregnant in 1991 and 1992, enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), which tracks the health and development of children.

They found that women who had lost a baby in the past experienced significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression during their next pregnancy.

These symptoms continued nearly three years after they gave birth to a healthy baby.

Professor Jean Golding, at the University of Bristol, said: "This study is important to the families of women who have lost a baby, since it is so often assumed that they get over the event quickly, yet as shown here, many do not.

"This has implications for the medical profession as well as the woman and her family."

Dr Emma Robertson Blackmore of the University of Rochester Medical Center, New York, added: "This finding is important because, when assessing if a women is at risk of antenatal or postnatal depression, previous pregnancy loss is usually not taken into account in the same way as other risk factors such as a family history of depression, stressful life events or a lack of social support.

"We know that maternal depression can have adverse impacts on children and families. If we offer targeted support during pregnancy to women who have previously lost a baby, we may be able to improve health outcomes for both the women and their children."

This article was published on Thu 3 March 2011