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Objective To investigate the effects of anxiety and depression during pregnancy on obstetric complications using the data collected from the St George's Birthweight Study.

Design Prospective population study.

Setting District general hospital in inner London.

Subjects A consecutive series of 1860 white women booking for delivery were approached. Of these, 136 refused and 209 failed to complete the study for other reasons, leaving a sample of 1515.

Main outcome measure Data were obtained by research interviewers at booking, 17, 28, and 36 weeks gestation and from the structured antenatal and obstetric record. The predictor variables were the anxiety and depression scores measured using the General Health Questionnaire. The outcome variables were five obstetric complications: preterm delivery; nonspontaneous onset of labour; major analgesia in the first and second stages of labour …