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Maternal depression: risk factors and treatment options during pregnancy

^1. Erne Hospital, Cornagrade Road, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh BT74 6AY, UK Email: orla.conlon{at}westerntrust.hscni.net (corresponding author)
^2. Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Trust Headquarters, Nore Villa, Knockbracken Healthcare Park, Saintfield Road, Belfast BT8 8BH, UK

Key content:

• Psychiatric illness was identified as the leading cause of indirect death in the fifth and sixth CEMACH reports; the decrease in the rate of suicide in the seventh report may indicate that previous recommendations are having a beneficial effect.
  
• Half of the women identified in the earlier reports had a history of serious mental illness.
  
• Depression during pregnancy is complex and difficult to treat.
  

Learning objectives:

• To learn about the background, diagnosis and management.
  

Ethical issues:

• How aggressive should any active approach be to reduce the risk of maternal death?
  
• Can the use of pharmacological agents, which can cause fetal toxicity and neonatal withdrawal problems, be justified?
  

Please cite this article as: Conlon O, Lynch J. Maternal depression: risk factors and treatment options during pregnancy. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2008;10:151–155.

Keywords antidepressive agents / fetal toxicity / selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors / suicide / maternal death