Bennett HA, Einarson A, Taddio A, Koren G, Einarson TR (2004) Prevalence of depression during pregnancy: systematic review.

Obstet Gynecol 103(4):698-709.

Bennet et al. examined the prevalence of depression during pregnancy during each trimester (via interviews and screening tests). It was found that rates of depression was significantly greater during the 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy and infers that treatment for depression during pregnancy should be addressed prior to this time.

Christian LM, Franco A, Glaser R, Iams JD (2009) Depressive symptoms are associated with elevated serum proinflammatory cytokines among pregnant women. Brain Behav Immun 23(6):750-754.
Christian et al. examined the connection between observed stress, symptoms of depression and serum inflammatory markers of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in pregnant women. It was found that symptoms of depression (but not observed stressed) during pregnancy are related to greater levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha), which is consistent with other literature that depressive symptoms may cause negative consequences during pregnancy by the means of inflammatory pathways.

Dietz PM, Williams SB, Callaghan WM, Bachman DJ, Whitlock EP, Hornbrook MC (2007) Clinically identified maternal depression before, during, and after pregnancies ending in live births. Am J Psychiatry 164(10):1515-20.
This article presents a fairly recent analysis of the prevalence of depression diagnosed before, during and after pregnancies, as well as the prevalence of depression treatment utilized. Approximately one in seven women was diagnosed with and treated for depression during 39 weeks before pregnancy through 39 weeks following pregnancy.

Evans J, Heron J, Francomb H, Oke S, Golding J (2001) Cohort study of depressed mood during pregnancy and after childbirth. BMJ 323(7307):257-60.
Evans et al. conducted a long-term study that investigated the mood of mothers throughout pregnancy and postpartum and compared the self-reported symptoms of depression at each stage. It was found that unlike previous findings, symptoms of depression is not more severe/more likely after postpartum than during pregnancy and research needs to focus towards identifying and treating antenatal depression as well.

Robertson E, Grace S, Wallington T, Stewart DE (2004) Antenatal risk factors for postpartum depression: a synthesis of recent literature. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 26(4):289-95.
This article reviews recent literature that looks into antenatal risk factors that have been associated with the developing of postpartum depression such as a previous history of depression, depression and/or anxiety during pregnancy, facing stressful life events during pregnancy or early postpartum and low levels of social support. Robertson et al. suggests looking into risk factors that affect

teenage mothers specifically as well as developing appropriate instruments to assess postpartum depression in different culture groups.

Suri R, Altshuler L, Hellemann G, Burt VK, Aquino A, Mintz J (2007) Effects of antenatal depression and antidepressant treatment on gestational age at birth and risk of preterm birth. Am J Psychiatry 164(8):1206-13.
Suri et al. assesses the effects of antenatal antidepressant use and maternal depression on the risk of premature birth and the age of the infant at birth. This article emphasizes the risk and negative consequences of utilizing antidepressants antepartum, as this is associated with a younger gestational age at birth and an increase in risk of premature birth.