The Effect of Magnesium on Maternal Mood, Cognitive Function, and Birth Experience

Depression, Postpartum

Magnesium is sometimes used to prevent seizures in the setting of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The primary aim of this study is to determine if women who receive magnesium are less likely to experience postpartum depression. Other aims include examining the relationship between receiving magnesium and cognitive function and birth experience.

This prospective observational study of women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (gestational hypertension or preeclampsia) seeks to evaluate a number of markers of maternal postpartum well-being, including maternal mood, breastfeeding, cognitive function, maternal-infant attachment, maternal perception of control, and postpartum pain between women who did and did not receive magnesium prophylaxis in the peripartum period. This project will include 300 women recruited from the obstetrical service at Prentice Women's Hospital. Women will be included if they are at least 34 weeks gestation, have a singleton pregnancy, and have been diagnosed with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (either gestational hypertension or preeclampsia). Women will be exposed to magnesium for the indication of preeclampsia at the discretion of their obstetric provider. Intrapartum baseline magnesium serum levels will be drawn for all women. For women who are receiving a magnesium infusion, serum magnesium levels will be repeated during the magnesium infusion (after receipt of the bolus infusion). For women who elect to receive neuraxial analgesia, CSF will be obtained and central magnesium levels drawn at the time of epidural placement. Prior to discharge from the hospital, baseline demographic and clinical data will be obtained via chart review. Surveys will be administered to assess potential confounders of depression. A baseline self-reported depression survey, the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms-Self Report (QIDS-SR) will be administered followed by a structured clinical interview for diagnosis (SCID), the gold standard for psychiatric research diagnosis. Women will be contacted at two weeks and again at six weeks postpartum and the QIDS-SR will be administered. For women with positive screens, a phone-based MINI will be performed.

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United States