Mapping a Syndemic of Psychosocial Risks During Pregnancy Using Network Analysis

Abstract

Background-Psychosocial risks during pregnancy impact maternal health in resource-limited settings, and HIV-positive women often bear a heavy burden of these factors. This study sought to use network modeling to characterize co-occurring psychosocial risks to maternal and child health among at-risk pregnant women.Methods-Two hundred pregnant HIV-positive women attending antenatal care in South Africa were enrolled. Measured risk factors included younger age, low income, low education, unemployment, unintended pregnancy, distress about pregnancy, antenatal depression, internalized Karmel W. Choi

Prenatal distress level and its predictors according to the gestational age in pregnant women in the semi-urban region in Northwestern Turkey: A cross-sectional study

“…In a study conducted in Indonesia, young age was reported as the most dominant factor affecting prenatal distress in primigravidae. 2 According to our results, which were consistent with those in the literature, prenatal distress levels increased both in the pregnant women whose gestational age was between 12th -27th weeks, and in the pregnant women whose gestational age was between 28th -41st weeks as their age decreased [21,[30][31][32].…”

“…In a study, antenatal depression in unplanned pregnancies was reported to be signi cantly more than that in planned pregnancies [22]. Several studies conducted in different countries yielded results similar to those of the present study, and the authors of those studies showed that unplanned pregnancies in women whose gestational age was increased the distress levels [19,29,31].…”

“…In some studies, the freqency of stress, anxiety, depression during pregnancy ranged between 7.9% and 33.8% [8,21,22,[26][27][28]. In addition, in our study, similar to literature [17,21,[29][30][31][32], the levels of prenatal distress were higher in the participants whose gestational age was between 28th -41st weeks than that in the participants whose gestational age was between 12th -27th weeks. It was reported that prenatal distress experienced during pregnancy was mostly due to changes in women in the second and third trimesters and that mothers in advanced ages can adapt to these changes better [2,5].…”

“…In their study, Choi et al reported that low education level and unemployment led to low income level, which increased pregnancy distress [31]. In several other studies conducted on the issue, it was shown that there was association between nancial problems and the levels of prenatal distress including depression, anxiety, and stress [27-29, 32, 33].…”

“As a Young Pregnant Girl… The Challenges You Face”: Exploring the Intersection Between Mental Health and Sexual and Reproductive Health Amongst Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa

“…Greater insight into the lived subjective experience of depression and stress, and how these are linked to SRH outcomes is needed. There appears to be a gap in the literature pertaining to the ways in which mental health and psychosocial risks, including depression and stress, intersect and overlap with SRH related factors such as distress caused by 'unintended' pregnancy, material/emotional stressors of having a child, or social stigma [16]. Various studies explore depression amongst HIV positive women, but there has been little exploration of mental health issues that arise due to, or co-occur with, SRH outcomes.…”