A Comparison of Postpartum Depression in Mothers Conceived by Assisted Reproductive Technology and Those Naturally Conceived

It is thought that mothers who conceive via assisted reproductive technology (ART) may be at greater risk of postpartum depression (PPD) because of the problems and psychological stresses associated with ART treatment. The aim of the present study is to determine the occurrence of PPD among mothers conceiving via ART in comparison with mothers naturally conceiving, using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).

This historical cohort study investigated 406 mothers with infants aged 3-9 months. Three hundred and eight women with natural pregnancies were selected as control group, among mothers who referred to Tehran healthcare centres for infant vaccination. Ninety-eight women who conceived via ART at the Royan Institute were selected as ART group. A general questionnaire, including education, occupation, number of children, delivery method, history of infant hospitalization, breastfeeding, mothers’ and infants’ ages, cause of infertility (in the case of ART group only), and history of depression, was used. It has to be pointed out that a validated Persian version of the EPDS was used to measure depressive symptoms.

The mean EPDS score in mothers who naturally conceived was 8.38 ± 0.35 in comparison with mothers who conceived via ART (7.59 ± 0.63). The proportions of women who reported PPD were 26.0 and 20.4% among the control and ART groups, respectively. The difference in occurrence of PPD was not statistically significant between the control and ART groups (P =0.26).

The occurrence of PPD in mothers who conceived via ART was similar to those who naturally conceived.