Diabetes and Depression in New Moms

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting today that woman with diabetes are more likely to experience depression during pregnancy or in the months after childbirth than non-diabetics.

Monifa Thomas, the Sun-Times health reporter, cites a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association in support of the proposition that 15% of woman with diagnosed diabetes experienced depression during or after pregnancy compared with 8% of women without diabetes.

Diabetes is a major complicating factor in pregnancy.  Women with diabetes are usually characterized as having high rish preganancies.  Diabetic women often have larger babies which can lead to complications at the time of delivery.  Untreated or uncontrolled diabetes has been linked to birth injuries.