Impact of Depression in Teenage Pregnancy [17K

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Teenage pregnancy remains a public health concern. Maternal complications include increased C-section and instrumental deliveries. Infant complications include preterm births and neonatal death. Societal implications seen in teenage mothers include increased financial burden, unemployment, poor academic achievement, and physical abuse. In this study, we investigated a correlation between a diagnosed adolescent depression and pregnancy during adolescence (<20 years old). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of female patients, under the age of 20, diagnosed with depression and/or adolescent pregnancy at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center clinics (including Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatric, and Family Medicine clinics) in Amarillo, Texas from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2016 and conducted Z-test to analyze the statistical significance. IRB approval was obtained. RESULTS: Of the 490 teenage girls identified, 171 (34.9%) were pregnant but not depressed, 220 (44.9%) were depressed but not pregnant, and 99 (20.2%) were both depressed and pregnant. Of the 99 teenage girls, 35 (35.4%) of the patients had depression prior to pregnancy, 29 (29.3%) had PPD (postpartum depression), 19 (19.2%) had depression after conception without PPD, and 16 (16.2%) had depression after conception with unknown PPD. CONCLUSION: Research suggests that childbearing does not necessarily cause psychological distress among teenagers. However, after filtering out the data for PPD and those with indeterminate history, the result showed that teens were, on average, depressed first, and became pregnant after. This research shows that depression remains an important risk factor for teen pregnancy. Public policy and medical management should be encouraged to address this.