Relationship between Personality Traits and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms in Women who Became Pregnant via Infertility Treatment

The status of postpartum depression was elucidated herein with the use of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in women in Shikoku, Japan who became pregnant and gave birth after undergoing infertility treatment, including assisted reproductive technology (ART). The assessment was performed during their children’s 4-month health examination. The relationships between postpartum depression and the mothers’ background factors and scores on the Big Five personality traits scale were also examined. Of the Big Five personality traits, the scores for neuroticism were significantly higher in the ART group (n=71) than in the general infertility treatment (n=118) and natural pregnancy (n=872) groups. No significant differences in EPDS scores were seen among these three groups. A logistic regression analysis showed that neuroticism was associated with an EPDS score ≧9 points, (which is suggestive of postpartum depression, ) in all groups. Moreover, although a long-standing marriage had an inhibitory effect on postpartum depression in the natural pregnancy group, no such trend was seen in the ART group, which included many women with long-standing marriages. Particularly for women who become pregnant by ART, an individualized response that pays close attention to the woman’s personality traits is needed.