A survey of the depressive symptoms in pregnant women at an urban primary care consultation office

Abstract

We studied the frequency of depression as well as biomedical and social features of 179 pregnant women under control at an urban clinic in metropolitan Santiago. The random sample comprised 38% of all controlled pregnancies. A questionnaire adapted and validated by Florenzano et al was used to appraise depression. The Graffar methodology was used to measure socioeconomic level. Frequency of depressive symptoms was 30% and mean age of depressed women was 27.3 years, similar to non depressed ones (26.1%). A significantly higher proportion of depression was found in single women and those having a dystocic last delivery. The high frequency of depression in this vulnerable group suggests the need for integrated obstetric-psychiatric units to provide a more comprehensive medical care to theses patients.