Risk of psychological distress in parents of preterm children in the first year: evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

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Abstract
Objective To assess whether the parents of babies born preterm (PT; Design and participants Data were drawn from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative prospective cohort of babies born in 2000–2002. 12 100 families with complete data available for both parents at recruitment (9 months postpartum) are included. Exposure and outcome Mothers report of gestational age at birth (in weeks) was grouped into: very PT (Results Overall, 7% of families reported a PT birth; 12.1% of mothers and 8.9% of fathers showed signs of PD at 9 months postpartum. The mothers of very PT infants had an increased risk of PD, compared with the mothers of full-term babies (unadjusted OR 2.10 (1.30 to 3.39; adjusted OR 1.66 (1.02 to 2.69)). Mothers of moderate or late PT babies had no apparent increased risk of PD. However, mothers of early term babies also showed a small excess risk of PD (adjusted OR 1.16 (0.99 to 1.36)). Unadjusted analysis suggested a doubling in the risk of PD in fathers of very and moderately PT babies, compared with fathers of full-term babies, which remains statistically significant after adjustment in the moderately PT group (adjusted OR1.98 (1.20 to 3.29)). Conclusions The parents of very PT children are at an increased risk of PD at 9 months postpartum, and mothers of children born at early term also see an elevated risk compared with mothers of full-term babies.

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