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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Glob. Womens Health
Sec. Women's Mental Health
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2025.1497698

Association of Contraception Use and Pregnancy Intention with Perinatal Depression Risk Among Omani Mothers -A Longitudinal Cohort Study

Provisionally accepted
Atika Khalaf Atika Khalaf 1,2*Nawal Al Amri Nawal Al Amri 3Pernilla Ny Pernilla Ny 4Rebecca Mathew Rebecca Mathew 5
  • 1 Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden
  • 2 Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • 3 Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
  • 4 Lund University, Lund, Skane County, Sweden
  • 5 Fatima College of Health​ Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Unplanned pregnancy is significantly associated with an increased risk of perinatal depression (antenatal and postnatal depression), emphasizing its prevalence and its potentially detrimental effects on both maternal and child health. This study aimed to investigate the association of contraception use and pregnancy intention with the risk of perinatal depression among Omani mothers.Methods: A prospective longitudinal study design was employed to investigate perinatal depression risk in mothers attending antenatal health care services in Oman. Perinatal depression risk was assessed using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale during the third trimester and postpartum visits. Multiple linear regression analyses were utilized to explore relationships between the risk of perinatal depression and pregnancy-related factors, contraception use, and sociodemographic variables.The study involved 300 participants with a mean age of 30.8 years (SD= 5.47). The majority of participants reported planned pregnancy (74.0%), no use of contraception (66.0%), and being multiparous (72.7%). A significantly higher proportion (87.8%) of women with planned pregnancies were primiparous (p<0.001). Besides family structure (core family, p=0.025) and monthly income (1000 OMR or below, p=0.021), mothers who were pregnant for the first time (p<0.001), and those who were primiparous (p<0.001) did not use contraception. The regression models showed a significant association between the antenatal and postnatal depression scores (p<0.001, 95% CI 0.401-0.603) according to the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale.The findings suggest that women with unplanned pregnancies warrant attention for early detection and preventive interventions, irrespective of their emotional stance.Incorporating routine mental health screening into perinatal care can facilitate early detection, and targeted interventions, contributing to improved maternal mental well-being.

    Keywords: Pregnancy planning, Contraception use, Antenatal Depression, postnatal depression, Oman Pregnancy Planning, Oman

    Received: 17 Sep 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Khalaf, Al Amri, Ny and Mathew. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Atika Khalaf, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.