Am J Perinatol 2021; 38(02): 171-175
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1695775
Original Article

The Association between Positive Antenatal Depression Screening and Breastfeeding Initiation and Continuation

1   McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine—Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chicago, Illinois
,
1   McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine—Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chicago, Illinois
,
Carolyn M. Ross
1   McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine—Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chicago, Illinois
,
Emily S. Miller
2   Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine—Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
› Author Affiliations
Funding Funding for this study was provided by Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine/Lumara Health Policy Award (2016 ESM), National Institute of Child and Human Development K12 HD050121–09 (ESM), and the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Grant Number UL1TR001422. The funding sources had no role in study design, data collection, analysis or interpretation, writing the report, or submitting the article for publication.

Abstract

Objective This study was aimed to determine the association between antenatal depression and breastfeeding initiation and continuation at 6 weeks postpartum.

Study Design This retrospective cohort study included all live-born deliveries after 24weeks' gestation at a single tertiary care institution between 2009 and 2014 with a documented antenatal depression screen using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). During the study period, it was recommended that routine screening occur during both the first and third trimesters. A positive screen was defined as a PHQ-9 score ≥ 10. Breastfeeding initiation and continuation until 6 weeks' postpartum were compared between women with and without a positive screen using bivariable analyses. Stepwise backward elimination regressions were used to identify whether a positive screen was independently associated with breastfeeding rates after controlling for confounders.

Results Among the 2,871 women meeting inclusion criteria, 302 (10.5%) were screened positive for antenatal depression. After adjusting for confounders, there were no differences in breastfeeding initiation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.52–1.16), but women with a positive antenatal depression screen were significantly less likely to continue breastfeeding at 6 weeks' postpartum (aOR= 0.67, 95% CI: 0.48–0.96).

Conclusion A positive antenatal depression, screened in the first or third trimester, is a significant risk factor for early breastfeeding cessation.



Publication History

Received: 11 March 2019

Accepted: 15 July 2019

Article published online:
03 September 2019

© 2019. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 
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