Adverse perinatal events are associated with postpartum depression and anxiety in women veterans

Certain childbirth-related events-including preterm delivery and emergency cesareans-can involve threat to life of woman and child. Limited research has considered maternal mental health following these experiences. Women veterans in a national survey study reported information about prior pregnancies, including gestational age at delivery (coded to represent preterm birth), infant birthweight (categorized to indicate low birthweight), and whether delivery involved an emergency cesarean. Generalized linear mixed-effects models sampling 1780 pregnancies across 903 women tested associations between a composite of these adverse perinatal events and postpartum depression and/or anxiety. Such events were not uncommon, endorsed by nearly one-half of women (49.8%). Pregnancies involving adverse events were linked with elevated odds of postpartum depression and/or anxiety (OR = 1.27, 95% confidence interval 1.18-2.50), even when controlling for risk factors. Findings support childbirth as a potentially traumatic stressor and highlight the importance of attending to mental health following adverse perinatal experiences.