The Correlation between Maternal Ante- and Postpartum Depression and Mode of Delivery: Preliminary Study

Objective: To investigate the relationship of prenatal and postnatal depression and mode of delivery. Methods: The study population consisted of 35 pregnant women who underwent antenatal care in Bundang CHA Medical Center from October 2018 to September 2019. Among them, 20 women underwent cesarean section (c-sec) and 15 women underwent vaginal delivery (VD). The survey was conducted at 34 to 36 gestational weeks and at postpartum 4 weeks consecutively using Korean version of Edinburgh Perinatal/Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). To evaluate the association between maternal ante- and postpartum depression and mode of delivery, we analyzed the differences of EPDS according to mode of delivery and pre- and postpartum. Results: The mean scores of EPDS before delivery was 7.2±5.0 in C-sec group and 5.8±4.7 in VD group, but it was not statistically significant (P=0.390). The EPDS scores at postpartum was significantly higher in women who underwent C-sec compared to VD group (9.2±4.9 vs. 7.6±5.4, P=0.010; respectively). Also when comparing the mode of delivery in fourteen women with EPDS 9 or above at postpartum, C-sec rate (64.3%) was significantly higher than VD rate (35.7%) (P=0.010). In both groups, the scores of EPDS were increased after delivery with statistical significance (P=0.039). Conclusion: C-sec delivery could increase the EPDS at postpartum and delivery itself could result in maternal depressive symptoms during postpartum period regardless of mode of delivery.