Perceived social support moderates neural reactivity to emotionally valenced stimuli during pregnancy

Nyman, Tristin; Pegg, Samantha; Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Mistry-Patel, Sejal; Becker‐Schmall, Lisa J.; Brooker, Rebecca J.

doi:10.1111/psyp.13647

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…In the context of physical distancing regulations, support systems are fundamental for pregnant women’s mental health 26 . Three main support sources during the prenatal period are partner 27 , social network 28 , and healthcare support 29 . Being housebound, it is likely that most of the social interactions take place within the couple or family that occupy a primary role in providing pregnant women with a safe psychological environment 30 , 31 , and in turn reduce the likelihood of psychological distress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The risk and protective factors of heightened prenatal anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 lockdown

Vacaru

Beijers

Browne

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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While pregnant women are already at-risk for developing symptoms of anxiety and depression, this is heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. We compared anxiety and depression symptoms, as indicators of psychological distress, before and during COVID-19, and investigated the role of partner, social network and healthcare support on COVID-19-related worries and consequently on psychological distress. A national survey, conducted during the first lockdown in The Netherlands, assessed COVID-19 experiences and psychological distress (N = 1421), whereas a comparison sample (N = 1439) was screened for psychological distress in 2017–2018. During COVID-19, the percentage of mothers scoring above the questionnaires’ clinical cut-offs doubled for depression (6% and 12%) and anxiety (24% and 52%). Women reported increased partner support during COVID-19, compared to pre-pandemic, but decreased social and healthcare support. Higher support resulted in lower COVID-19-related worries, which in turn contributed to less psychological distress. Results suggest that a global pandemic exerts a heavy toll on pregnant women’s mental health. Psychological distress was substantially higher during the pandemic than the pre-pandemic years. We identified a protective role of partner, social, and healthcare support, with important implications for the current and future crisis management. Whether increased psychological distress is transient or persistent, and whether and how it affects the future generation remains to be determined.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The risk and protective factors of heightened prenatal anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 lockdown

Vacaru

Beijers

Browne

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Participants included women enrolled in a larger longitudinal study of emotional development that involved two laboratory visits during pregnancy (second trimester, third trimester) and one postpartum (27,28). Ninety pregnant women in their second or third trimester were targeted for participation; target sample size was derived from power analyses conducted for the main hypothesis of the parent study.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feelings of Parental Authenticity Moderate Concurrent Links Between Breastfeeding Experience and Symptoms of Postpartum Depression

Hammond

Brooker

Mistry-Patel

et al. 2021

Front. Glob. Womens Health

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A negative breastfeeding experience is a contextual risk factor for the development of postpartum depressive symptoms among mothers. Many current interventions targeted at disrupting this association rely on the ability to make breastfeeding experiences positive. As a beginning step toward identifying alternative approaches, we investigated a potential psychological buffer of the negative relation between breastfeeding experience and symptoms of postpartum depression: feeling authentic in one's role as a parent. Authenticity appears to enhance well-being and buffer negative outcomes more generally, but has largely gone unaddressed in mothers, particularly during the critical peripartum period when depressive symptoms are at increased prevalence. We tested whether three facets of felt authenticity in the parent role (authentic living, acceptance of external influence, and self-alienation) moderated the association between satisfaction with breastfeeding experience and postpartum depressive symptoms in mothers (N = 92, 81% White, 85% non-Hispanic, college-educated, Mage = 30.49). We found that mothers who felt high in authentic living in the parent role showed fewer depressive symptoms when breastfeeding experiences were positive. In addition, we found that the association between negative breastfeeding experience and greater postpartum depression was mitigated when feelings of self-alienation in the parent role, or the sense that one is unaware of or disconnected from who “she really is” as a mother, were low. This work suggests that enhancing women's feelings of connectedness to “who they truly are” as a mother may be protective against some of the negative mental health effects linked to problems with breastfeeding.

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Prenatal maternal depression predicts neural maturation and negative emotion in infants

Kling

Mistry-Patel

Peoples

et al. 2023

Infant Behavior and Development

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Perceived social support moderates neural reactivity to emotionally valenced stimuli during pregnancy

Cited by 4 publications

References 69 publications

The risk and protective factors of heightened prenatal anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 lockdown

The risk and protective factors of heightened prenatal anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 lockdown

Feelings of Parental Authenticity Moderate Concurrent Links Between Breastfeeding Experience and Symptoms of Postpartum Depression

Prenatal maternal depression predicts neural maturation and negative emotion in infants

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