THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CESAREAN SECTION LIKELIHOOD AND DEPRESSION IN BLACK WOMEN (2023)

Undergraduate: Morgan Davis

Faculty Advisor: Shauna Cooper
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Psychological distress, such as depression, stress, and anxiety, has been found to be associated with an increased risk of emergency cesarean section (EmCS). However, the research surrounding EmCS risk and antenatal depression is limited. Of this limited research, even fewer studies that have investigated the effects of race on this relationship. The present study examines the relationship between EmCS likelihood and and antenatal depression in an underrepresented population in obstetric and psychological research, Black women. The study utilized a dataset from a large- scale USDHHS study and a combination of logistic regression analyses and one-way ANOVA tests.

The findings indicated that depression does predict and increase the odds of undergoing an emergency cesarean section. However, identifying as Black and having a depression diagnosis was found to be only marginally significant. This contradicts other findings within the study, which have implied that being Black and having a medical diagnosis of depression independently increase the odds of undergoing an emergency cesarean section. The mixed results of the study suggest a need for further research to clarify the role race plays, examine the effects of stress, and find ways to capture mothers with undiagnosed depression.

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