Maternal psychological morbidity and low birth weight in India.
Patel, Vikram;
Prince, Martin;
(2006)
Maternal psychological morbidity and low birth weight in India.
The British journal of psychiatry, 188 (3).
pp. 284-285.
ISSN 0007-1250
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.105.012096
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Depression following childbirth is associated with poor child growth in developing countries. We describe the association between psychological morbidity during pregnancy and low birth weight (<2.5 kg). A cohort of 270 mothers was recruited from a district hospital in Goa, India; all mothers were interviewed with a screening questionnaire for psychological morbidity. Babies of 250 mothers were reviewed at birth to measure their weight. Excluding 5 premature babies, we found that maternal psychological morbidity was independently associated with low birth weight (odds ratio 1.44, 95% CI 1.0-2.07). We conclude that maternal psychological morbidity has an adverse impact on foetal growth.