Mother's postnatal stress: an investigation of links to various factors during pregnancy and post‐partum

Andersson, Ewa; Hildingsson, Ingegerd

doi:10.1111/scs.12305

Cited by 22 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…A possible explanation may be that some new parents do not find their situation manageable, with the child taking a lot of their time, and therefore experience more stress. The highest level of parental stress was in the sub-area of ‘Role restriction’ for both mothers and fathers, which is in accordance with other studies ( 11 , 15 ). Parents with poor SOC have a strained economic situation and come from lower social classes ( 28 ), which can also contribute to parental stress.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The prevalence of depressive symptoms in early parenthood is reported to be 5%–20% in mothers ( 5 , 7 , 8 ) and 3%–10% in fathers ( 6,9 ) and is associated with problems in children, such as stress and internalizing problems in both boys and girls ( 10 ). There is a link between depressive symptoms and parental stress ( 3 , 11 ), and they influence one another over time ( 12 ). Mothers often report higher parental stress than fathers ( 10 , 12 – 16 ); parents with poor health have higher stress levels than parents with good health ( 17 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Association between depressive symptoms and parental stress among mothers and fathers in early parenthood: A Swedish cohort study

Kerstis

Nohlert

Öhrvik

et al. 2016

Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences

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AimTo determine whether there is an association between depressive symptoms and parental stress among mothers and fathers during early parenthood in Sweden.MethodsIn this study, 401 mothers and 396 fathers (393 couples) were included; the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Sense of Coherence Scale were measured 3 months after childbirth, and the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire and the Sense of Coherence Scale after 18 months. Complete data for multivariable analysis were available for 264 mothers and 252 fathers.ResultsThe mothers estimated greater total depressive symptoms and parental stress than the fathers did. Both the mothers and the fathers had the greatest level of stress in the sub-area ‘Role restriction’. The mothers had the lowest level of stress in the sub-area ‘Social isolation’ and the fathers in the sub-area ‘Incompetence’. The mothers perceived greater levels of stress than the fathers did in all sub-areas except for ‘Social isolation’, where the fathers perceived higher stress. There was an association between the parents’ depressive symptoms and parental stress. The parents’ own depressive symptoms at 3 months and sense of coherence and the partners’ parental stress at 18 months were positively associated with the parental stress at 18 months in univariable and multivariable analyses.ConclusionsUnderstanding the relationship between depressive symptoms and parental stress is important for health professionals so they can offer parents adequate support in early parenthood to optimize the conditions for raising a child. This knowledge should also be communicated to the parents.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between depressive symptoms and parental stress among mothers and fathers in early parenthood: A Swedish cohort study

Kerstis

Nohlert

Öhrvik

et al. 2016

Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences

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“…The main strength of our trial is the use of an experimental design of RCT, which minimizes the potential for confounding. Indeed, no baseline differences were identified between groups in the numerous inter-related factors, including socio-demographic background, social support, prenatal distress and labor experience, which have been reported to contribute to postpartum distress in previous studies (39)(40)(41), including a metaanalysis (42). Furthermore, involving only primiparous mothers in the trial reduced variability or potential bias in practices and attitudes towards breastfeeding or caring for a new-born baby.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of a breastfeeding relaxation intervention on maternal psychological state, breast milk outcomes, and infant behavior and growth

Shukri

Wells

Eaton

et al. 2019

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

129

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Background Biological signaling and communication between mothers and infants during breastfeeding may shape infant behavior and feeding. This signaling is complex and little explored in humans, although it is potentially relevant for initiatives to improve breastfeeding rates. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate physiological and psychological aspects of mother–infant signaling during breastfeeding experimentally, testing the effects of a relaxation intervention on maternal psychological state, breast milk intake, milk cortisol levels, and infant behavior and growth. Methods Primiparous breastfeeding mothers and full-term infants were randomly assigned to receive relaxation therapy [intervention relaxation group; n = 33 (RG)] or to the control group [n = 31 (CG); no relaxation therapy] at 2 wk postpartum. Both groups received standard breastfeeding support. Home visits were conducted at 2 (HV1), 6 (HV2), 12 (HV3) and 14 (HV4) wk to measure maternal stress and anxiety, breast milk intake and milk cortisol, and infant behavior and growth. Results RG mothers had lower stress scores postintervention than the CG (HV3 ∆ = −3.13; 95% CI: −5.9, −0.3) and lower hindmilk cortisol at HV1 (∆ = −44.5%; 95% CI: −76.1%, −12.9%) but not at HV2. RG infants had longer sleep duration (∆ = 82 min/d; 95% CI: 16, 149 min/d) at HV2 and higher gains in weight and body mass index standardized deviation score than the CG infants (∆ = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.3, 1.22; and ∆ = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.09, 1.1, respectively). RG infants had a mean milk intake at HV3 that was 227 g/d higher than that of the CG infants (P = 0.031) after controlling for gender and milk intake at HV1. Conclusions The trial shows the effectiveness of a simple relaxation intervention for improving maternal and infant outcomes and identifies some potential signaling mechanisms for investigation in future and larger studies, especially in settings where mothers are more stressed, such as those with preterm or low birth weight infants. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01971216.

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“…This may indicate that social support may change prenatally to postpartum and that postpartum social support may be a more significant risk factor. Previous studies assessing postpartum social support and perceived stress have found that social support declines after giving birth and perceived stress increases, 37,38 indicating that postpartum support may be more relevant to PDS. Support during pregnancy may not be indicative of continued support after birth or the specific type of support needed 37 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Perceived social support and postpartum depression symptoms across geographical contexts: Findings from the 2016 Ohio Pregnancy Assessment survey

Collins

Oza-Frank

Marshall

2021

Birth

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Background The purpose of this study was to examine the association between perceived social support and postpartum depression symptoms (PDS) and to understand how this association may differ for urban, suburban, rural Appalachian, and rural non‐Appalachian women in Ohio. Methods Data were obtained via the 2016 Ohio Pregnancy Assessment Survey (n = 3382), a representative sample of postpartum women in Ohio. We conducted bivariate analyses to assess the associations between self‐perceived social support and PDS, and covariates. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted using a modified Poisson distribution to estimate the association between social support and PDS, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. We also examined geographical context as an independent predictor of PDS and as an effect modifier for the association between social support and PDS. Results 15.6% of survey respondents experienced PDS. Women with low levels of social support had slightly higher prevalence (aPR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.0‐2.1) of PDS compared to women with high social support. Geographic context was an independent predictor of PDS; women in rural Appalachia had significantly lower prevalence (aPR: 0.5, 95% CI: 0.2‐0.9) of PDS compared to women in urban areas. We did not find that geographical context modified the relationship between social support and PDS (Wald P = .5). Conclusions Low social support was associated with increased PDS but did not reach statistical significance. Women living in rural Appalachia had a lower prevalence of PDS. Future studies should explore the reasons for lower rates of PDS in rural Appalachia.

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Mother's postnatal stress: an investigation of links to various factors during pregnancy and post‐partum

Cited by 22 publications

References 34 publications

Association between depressive symptoms and parental stress among mothers and fathers in early parenthood: A Swedish cohort study

Association between depressive symptoms and parental stress among mothers and fathers in early parenthood: A Swedish cohort study

Randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of a breastfeeding relaxation intervention on maternal psychological state, breast milk outcomes, and infant behavior and growth

Perceived social support and postpartum depression symptoms across geographical contexts: Findings from the 2016 Ohio Pregnancy Assessment survey

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