Assisted Conception is a Risk Factor for Postnatal Mood Disturbance and Early Parenting Difficulties

Objective: To investigate whether assisted conception is associated with an increased risk of admission to a residential early parenting program for treatment of maternal mood disorder or infant feeding or sleeping disorders in the postpartum year.

Design: Systematic audit of consecutive medical records.

Setting: Masada Private Hospital Mother Baby Unit (MPHMBU), Melbourne, Australia.

Patient(s): Medical records of all mother-infant dyads admitted to MPHMBU between July 2000 and August 2002.

Intervention(s): None.

Main Outcome Measure(s): Modes of conception and delivery of index infant, maternal and infant age on admission, multiplicity of birth, infant birth weight, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores.

Result(s): A total of 745 records were audited, and mode of conception was recorded in 526 (70.6%) of records. Overall 6% (45/745) of the admitted infants had been conceived through assisted reproductive technologies compared with 1.52% in the general population (relative risk 4.0; 95% confidence interval, 3.0-5.4). Mothers who had conceived with assisted reproductive technologies were older and more likely to have had cesarean and multiple births than those who conceived spontaneously.

Conclusions: Assisted conception appears to be associated with a significantly increased rate of early parenting difficulties. Women who experience assisted conception may require additional support before and after their babies are born.