NIH study says male depression may lower pregnancy chances

CINCINNATI (WKRC) – A new study on pregnancy from the National Institutes of Health says that male depression may lower pregnancy chances among infertile couples.

It also links women’s use of certain anti-depressants to early pregnancy loss, specifically those that are not what’s called SSRI’s that work with the body’s serotonin.

In couples being treated for infertility, if the man is depressed, there’s a lower chance of pregnancy. The same was not true for women.

What makes this significant, according to researchers in “Fertility and Sterility”, is that the authors of this study noted that previous studies have shown that 41 percent of women and nearly 50 percent of men who are undergoing fertility treatments have symptoms of depression.

They say this is important information to help guide treatment and remind families of the importance of addressing mental health concerns.

One surprising finding is that for couples in which the male partner had major depression, 60 percent were less likely to conceive and have a live birth than those in which the male partner did not have depression.