Pregnancy and Marriage

If you’re pregnant, marriage is good for your health. 

So explains a recent study conducted in Canada and reported by the American Journal of Public Health.

You probably knew this already, but nowadays we all seem to need statistical proof of the obvious.

The study looked at how many women suffered spousal abuse, substance abuse and post-partum depression.

These were lowest among married women. They were second lowest among women who had cohabited for a long period of time. This used to be called common-law marriage.

Women who have cohabited for less than two years did worse than those in the first two groups, but not as badly as single women or women who were recently separated or divorced.

RedOrbit Online reports:

After analyzing the data, the researchers found 10.6 percent of women suffered partner abuse, substance abuse, or post-partum depression. They also found 20 percent of unwed women who were cohabitating suffered from at least one of the three pre-determined psychosocial conditions. Single women fared the worst statistically, with 35 percent suffering at least one of the conditions and 67 percent for those women who separated or divorced in the year before birth of the child.

When talking about women who were separated or divorced the study does not register: “… whether either type of abuse was the cause for the separation or the result.”

Apparently, marriage is not just another piece of paper.