title: Unintended pregnancy and postpartum depression among first-time mothers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Postpartum depression is a mental disorder that occurs after birth and has negative consequences for the mother, infant, and family. The objective of this secondary analysis was to examine whether pregnancy intention was associated with postpartum depression among first-time mothers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The First Baby Study is a prospective cohort study of women aged 18-35 having a first singleton birth in Pennsylvania. Baseline data were collected during the third trimester. Postpartum depressive symptoms were measured at 1-month postpartum using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Logistic regression was performed to examine the association between unintended pregnancy and postpartum depression, controlling for prepregnancy anxiety/depression and sociodemographic data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 2972 first-time mothers, 83.4% were white, 70.7% were married, and 56.9% were college educated. Nine hundred fifty-two women (32.0%) reported their pregnancy was unintended and 151 (5.1%) met the threshold for postpartum depression. The prevalence of postpartum depression was higher in women with unintended pregnancies compared to women with intended pregnancies (6.7% vs. 4.3%, p<0.01). However, after controlling for confounders, unintended pregnancy was no longer associated with postpartum depression (adjusted OR 1.41; 95% CI 0.91-2.18). Variables independently associated with postpartum depression included prepregnancy anxiety/depression, Asian race, and Hispanic ethnicity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pregnancy intention was not independently associated with postpartum depression among first time mothers in Pennsylvania.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, USA.
authors.forename: Shahed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abbasi
authors.forename: Cynthia H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.forename: Rada
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dagher
authors.forename: Junjia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kjerulff
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D020073:Gravidity; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned / Q000523:psychology*; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult