Psychological distress during pregnancy and adverse maternal and perinatal health outcomes: The role of socioeconomic status

Objective: To study the contribution of socioeconomic status (SES) to the prevalence of psychological distress during pregnancy, and to investigate the association between psychological distress and maternal and perinatal health among different SES groups. Methods: This study was embedded in the Generation R study. Multiple self-reported questionnaires were used to measure psychological distress. Prevalence differences between SES groups were tested with the χ² test. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between psychological distress and maternal and perinatal health outcomes. Results: Women of low SES experience symptoms of psychopathology distress 4.5 times as often and symptoms of stress 2.5 times as often as women with of high SES. Women of low SES experiencing symptoms of psychopathology are at greater risk of delivering preterm. We also found associations between psychological distress and adverse perinatal health outcomes among women of middle and high SES. Conclusion: The present study shows that the associations between SES, psychological distress, and maternal and perinatal health are complex, but do exist. To provide a better understanding of these associations, it is important to include mental health information in the standard national data collection on pregnant women, as this allows population-based studies.