Abstract
Purpose
Depression, stress, and anxiety, termed ‘psychological distress,’ are common in pregnancy
and postpartum periods. However, it is unclear whether prenatal psychological distress
predicts postpartum psychological distress. We studied the prevalence, comorbidity
and associations of maternal depression, stress, and anxiety in the prenatal period
in relation to the occurrence of these same measures in the postpartum period.
Methods
Data originated from the MotherToBaby study of pregnant women residing in the U.S
or Canada (2016–2018). Risk ratios and 95% Confidence Intervals using modified-Poisson
regression models were used to investigate associations between prenatal psychological
distress and postpartum psychological distress.
Results
Of the 288 women in the analysis, 21.2% and 26.7% of women had evidence of prenatal
and postnatal psychological distress, respectively. Among those with prenatal psychological
distress, 43 (70.5%) also had postpartum psychological distress. Twenty-five (41%)
of those with prenatal and 46 (60%) of those with postpartum psychological distress
had comorbidity of at least two of the measures. Prenatal measures independently predicted
the same postnatal measures; prenatal anxiety also independently predicted postpartum
stress. Participants who experienced more types of prenatal psychological distress
were at higher risk for postpartum depression, stress, and anxiety.
Conclusion
Depression, stress, and anxiety are common in pregnant women and often occur together.
Prenatal psychological distress measures are associated with postnatal psychological
distress measures, with stronger associations among women with more than one type
of psychological distress in pregnancy. Interventions during pregnancy may reduce
the risk of postpartum psychological distress.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 05, 2020
Accepted:
January 19,
2020
Received in revised form:
December 16,
2019
Received:
September 6,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
