BENGALURU: Research conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH), Bengaluru, and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) has found a link between symptoms of depression in expecting women and smaller-sized babies at birth.
“The prevalent signs of depression in pregnant women attending public hospitals in Bengaluru is 16.5 per cent. The ratio of small for gestational age (SGA) babies born to women with signs of depression is higher than with women with no prenatal stress,” the study says.
The paper was published in Wellcome Open Research, a peer-reviewed open access publishing platform. Titled Maternal Antecedents of Adiposity and Studying the Transgenerational role of Hyperglycaemia and Insulin, the cohort study was done on patients in public hospitals in Bengaluru.
Dr Giridhara R Babu, professor and head of Lifecourse Epidemiology, IIPH Bengaluru, said, “The study is a first in India’s public hospital context, which shows a link between antepartum depression, an often neglected determinant in antenatal screening and smaller-sized babies. The findings stress on focusing on screening for depression in pregnant women to ensure healthy pregnancy outcomes. The paper highlights that better mental health in pregnant women, especially a positive social environment, is instrumental in preventing low birth weight in Indian newborns.”
“Depression leads to hormonal changes, and this affects the amount of blood flow into the foetus. Blood flowing into the brain of the developing foetus is important; but during disregularities, the mother’s body compensates by reducing blood flow to other organs of the foetus to ensure adequate blood supply to its brain. This leads to reduced growth in the size of the foetus,” he said.
The study goes on to add that it is possible that antenatal depression interacts with maternal undernutrition, poor access to health care facilities, smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, which are independent known risk factors of low birth weight. Such an association may be generally seen in women of disadvantaged social groups.