Association of antepartum suicidal ideation during the third trimester with infant birth weight and gestational age at delivery

ABSTRACT

Antepartum suicidal behaviors are a leading cause of maternal injury and death. Previous research has not investigated associations between antepartum suicidal ideation and perinatal complications. Our study objective was to evaluate the relationship of antepartum suicidal ideation with low infant birthweight, small for gestational age, and preterm birth. A cohort study was conducted among 1,108 women receiving prenatal care in Peru. Suicidal ideation was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 during pregnancy. Birth outcomes were extracted from medical records. Linear regressions and multivariable logistic regressions were used to estimate were used to investigate associations between suicidal ideation and pregnancy outcomes. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 8.7%, preterm delivery was 5.7%, low birthweight was 4.4%, and small for gestational age was 3.4%. In an adjusted model, infant birthweight was 94.2 grams lower for mothers with antepartum suicidal ideation (95% CI: −183.0, −5.5, p = 0.037) compared with those without suicidal ideation. After adjusting for confounders including depression, participants with suicidal ideation had a nearly four-fold increased odds of delivering a small for gestational age infant (OR: 3.73; 95% CI: 1.59–8.74). These findings suggest suicidal ideation during pregnancy is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes, especially low infant birthweight.

KEYWORDS:

• suicidal ideation
• birth weight
• pregnancy
• preterm birth

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the dedicated staff members of Asociacion Civil Proyectos en Salud (PROESA), Peru, and Instituto Especializado Materno Perinatal, Peru, for their expert technical assistance with this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Roche Diagnostic Operations Inc. (project number 208617-5074547) and awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (T37-MD-001449) and the Eunice Kenney Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01-HD-059835). The NIH had no further role in study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication.