Use of hormonal contraceptives after childbirth increases risk of depression up to twice
Apr 01, 2025
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Researchers at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark recently published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) titled 「Using Postpartum Hormone Contraceptives and the Risk of Depression」.
The researchers conducted a large cohort study of about 610,000 women who gave birth to their first child in Denmark from 1997 to 2022.
The researchers analyzed the risk of developing depression by dividing it into cases where contraceptives were taken after childbirth and cases where they were not.
Contraceptives were divided into compound oral contraceptives (COCs), compound parenteral contraceptives (CNOCs), progestogen-only contraceptives (POPs), and progestogen-only parenteral contraceptives (PNOCs).
Four out of 10 subjects (248,274 in total) started using hormonal contraceptives within a year after giving birth, and the rest did not.
As a result of the analysis, women who used hormonal contraceptives were 49% more likely to be diagnosed with depression within 12 months or to be prescribed antidepressants.
By contraceptive pill, the risk of depression was 72% higher when the compound oral contraceptive pill was taken, and the compound parenteral contraceptive pill increased the risk of depression by 97%.
Progestogen-based contraceptives also showed an increased risk of depression by about 40%.
The researchers said, "Studies suggesting that the use of postpartum hormone contraceptives is associated with an increased risk of depression a year after childbirth in all age groups. "Careful should be taken in prescribing contraceptives if there is a high probability of depression after childbirth."," he stressed.
However, he added that further research is needed on the causal relationship of increased risk of postpartum depression.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
