Postpartum Hormonal Contraceptives Tied to Higher Depression Risk

THURSDAY, April 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Use of hormonal contraceptives postpartum is associated with an increased risk for developing postpartum depression, according to a study published online March 31 in JAMA Network Open.

Søren Vinther Larsen, Ph.D., from the Copenhagen University Hospital-Rigshospitalet in Denmark, and colleagues conducted a population-based cohort study based on nationwide Danish register data in primiparous women who gave birth from Jan. 1, 1997, through Dec. 31, 2022, to examine whether hormonal contraceptive initiation postpartum is associated with the development of depression within 12 months. The analysis included 610,038 first-time mothers.

The researchers found that 40.7 percent of first-time mothers initiated hormonal contraceptives within 12 months postpartum. There was an association between hormonal contraceptive initiation and subsequent depression (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.49) compared with no use, resulting in an increase in the 12-month absolute risk from 1.36 to 1.54 percent. For combined oral contraceptives, combined nonoral contraceptives, and progestogen-only nonoral contraceptives, risk was higher (adjusted hazard ratios, 1.72, 1.97, and 1.40, respectively). Use of progestogen-only pills was associated with short-term lower risk, but increased risk late postpartum. The earlier postpartum combined oral contraceptives were initiated, the higher the associated rate ratio of depression.

“These findings raise the issue of whether the incidence of depression postpartum may be inflated by routine hormonal contraceptive initiation, which is important information to convey at postpartum contraceptive counseling,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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