Protective Factors against Prenatal Depression in Pregnant Women

Abstract

This study explored protective factors against prenatal depression in pregnant women. One-hundred thirty-four pregnant women were recruited from an obstetric clinic and public health center in Korea. Dyadic adjustment, sense of mastery, and prenatal depression were assessed using structured questionnaires. Prenatal depression was assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS). Binomial logistic analysis was used to identify predictors of prenatal depression. Of the participants, 40.3% screened as positive on the EPDS with a cutoff point of 9/10. Protective factors against prenatal depression were a history of childbirth, dyadic adjustment, and sense of mastery. We must consider these findings when developing interventions for pregnant women focusing on prevention and management of prenatal depression.

Dyadic Adjustment and Sense of Mastery of Pregnant Women Protect Against Prenatal Depression

“…This result supports previous studies proposing that a high level of marital adaptability, marital satisfaction, and couple intimacy can reduce depression in pregnant women [2,4,17,37]. Dyadic adjustment is closely related to couples' support status, such that as a partner puts in more support, their dyadic adjustment level increases [38]. It has also been reported that pregnant women's prenatal depression increases with reduced partner support.…”

Investigation of the Prenatal Attachment Levels of Pregnant With Depressive Symptoms

“…In our study, when the BDI cutoff score was accepted as 17, the prevalence of depressive symptoms was found to be 35.3%. When pregnant women in the world and in our country were examined, the rates of depression were found to be quite high in studies conducted with many scales (Lara et al, 2009;Lancaster et al, 2010;Ali et al, 2012;Lee, 2016). In Turkey, this rate is between 27.9% -65.6% (Karaçam and Ançel ,2009;Tunç et al, 2012;Çelik et al, 2013;Dağlar et al, 2016;Bulut and Yiğitbaş, 2018;Yüksel et al,2020).…”

“…In many studies conducted in the world and in Turkey during the prenatal period, the rates of depression were found to be between 7.2% and 65.6%. While the rate of depression seen in pregnant women in the world is 7.2% -40.3% (Niaz et al, 2004;Lee et al, 2007;Lancaster et al, 2010;Lee, 2016), this rate is between 27.9% and 65.6% in Turkey (Karaçam and Ancel ,2009;Tunç et al, 2012;Çelik et al, 2013;Dağlar et al, 2016;Bulut and Yiğitbaş, 2018;Yüksel et al,2020). The data show that the rates of depression in our country are quite high compared to the countries of the world.…”