Women are more inclined to be depressed during pregnancy than after delivery, according to a study published in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal. Doctors have long been aware that 10% of women suffer from postpartum depression, but researchers from England's University of Bristol found that higher numbers of women experience depression during pregnancy, with the figures peaking around the 32nd week of gestation, BBC News reports. Researchers interviewed more than 9,000 women who were due to give birth between April 1, 1991, and Dec. 31, 1992, at 18 weeks and 32 weeks of pregnancy and eight weeks and eight months post-delivery. At 18 weeks, 11.8% of women were deemed to be experiencing "probable depression," and that number climbed to 13.5% at 32 weeks. Eight weeks postpartum, 9.1% were experiencing symptoms of depression, falling to 8.1% at eight months after birth (BBC News, 8/2). The "severity and nature" of the women's symptoms did not vary before and after delivery (Agence France-Presse, 8/3).

Treatment
Lead investigator Jonathan Evans said, "Offering treatment [for depression] may be important both for the mother and the future well-being of the child and family" because prenatal depression has been linked with low adherence to prenatal care, low birthweight and premature birth (Frith, London Independent, 8/3). He added that the "consequences of prenatal depression are not well understood" and called for more research on the effects of depression on women and their children. Although the team recommended screening and treatment during pregnancy, they held reservations about the "widespread use" of antidepressant drugs (BBC News, 8/2).

Contrary to Popular Beliefs
The study's findings contradict the popular belief that pregnancy "could actually protect against depression" (London Independent, 8/3). The findings "will be a surprise to many" because most associate pregnancy with a "time of emotional well-being," Dr. Ruta Nonacs of Massachusetts General Hospital said ( AP/Bergen Record, 8/3). Dr. Mary Nolan, an antenatal care expert with the British National Childbirth Trust, added, "It may be that it's in a way normal to have a low trough in pregnancy. It's the most enormous life-changing event imaginable. Thirty-two weeks is when the reality of it is hitting home in a particularly vivid way" (BBC News. 8/2). Many people, including doctors, are more attuned to look for postpartum depression, which can lead to neglect of the infant and family, and, in extreme cases, suicide. However, according to Evans, postpartum depression as a "specific syndrome" is actually a "popular myth." He stated, "Clearly, people do get depressed postnatally. But it has entered public subconsciousness as a sort of condition somehow separate from the rest of depression, and what we are saying is that it is depression like depression at any other time, and it occurs no more frequently than at any other time in a woman's life" (AP/Bergen Record, 8/3).