Encuesta sobre síntomas de depresión en embarazadas de un consultorio urbano de atención primaria / Depression in pregnant women seen at an outpatient primary care facility of urban Santiago

We studied the frequency of depression as well as biomedical and social features of 179 pregnant women under control at an urban clinic in metropolitan Santiago. The random sample compriesed 38% of all controlled pregnancies. A questionnaire adapted and validated by Florenzano et al was used to appraise. The Graffar methodology was used to measure socioeconomic level. Frequency of depressive symtoms was 30% and mean age of depressed women was 27.3 years, similar to non depressed ones (26.1%). A significantly highler proportion of depression was found in single women and those having a dystocic last delivery. The high frequency of depression in this vulnerable group suggests the need for integrated obsterric-psychiatric units to provide a more comprehensive medical care to theses patients