Postpartum Depression and Timing of Spousal Military Deployment Relative to Pregnancy and Delivery

Abstract: This study aimed to determine the relationship between spousal deployment and postpartum depression diagnosis among U.S. military wives, accounting for the timing of deployment with respect to pregnancy and delivery. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the association between spousal deployment and postpartum depression among pregnant wives of active-duty service members. Electronic medical records for 161,454 births occurring between 2004 and 2009 were used to define postpartum depression. Three non-mutually exclusive exposure variables were created to categorize deployments as occurring before, during, or after the infant’s delivery. A multivariable logistic regression model mutually adjusted for these exposure variables was fitted, producing an odds ratio for each of the three timing categories. A modest significant association was detected only in those whose husbands deployed in pregnancy and returned after delivery (i.e., deployed during delivery) [odds ratio (OR) 1.10, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.04–1.15]. An interactive effect between preexisting depression or anxiety and deployment during delivery was also detected in the data (OR 1.13, 95 % CI 1.07–1.20 for those without a preexisting diagnosis; OR 0.87, 95 % CI 0.80–0.95 for those with a preexisting diagnosis). Health care providers should continue to be aware of spousal deployment as a military-unique stressor in this population and rigorously screen for potential symptoms of postpartum depression, especially among those whose husbands are absent at delivery.