Postpartum depression has been described as a thief that steals motherhood. It can result in tragedy and sometimes in headline-gripping maternal suicide or infanticide. Because one of the highest priorities for nursing is to continually advance the knowledge that underlies nursing practice, it is essential that we understand what nurse researchers have done to advance the knowledge base of postpartum depression. This integrative review is a two-part series for MCN that summarizes 141 postpartum depression studies conducted by nurse researchers from around the globe, including United States, Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong, Taiwan), Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Turkey, and Malaysia. Specific areas of postpartum depression to which nurse researchers have devoted their primary attention include epidemiology, risk factors, transcultural perspectives, instrument development, screening, interventions, and mother-infant interactions.
Psychological symptoms, particularly postpartum depression, may impair women's well-being after childbirth. Mind-body treatments such as hypnosis are available to help prepare women to maintain or improve their well-being postpartum. The aims of the present study are to determine the effectiveness of a hypnosis intervention in alleviating psychological symptoms (stress, anxiety, and depression) and the symptoms of postpartum depression. A quasi-experimental design was utilized in this study. The experimental group participants (n = 28) received a hypnosis intervention at weeks 16, 20, 28, and 36 of their pregnancies. Participants in the control group (n = 28) received routine prenatal care. The final data collection, occurring at two months postpartum, included 16 women from the experimental group and 11 women from the control group. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was used to measure psychological symptoms, and postpartum depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The results at two months postpartum showed that the experimental group had significantly lower postpartum anxiety than the control group (M = 2.88 versus M = 38.36, p = .023). Similarly, the experimental group had significantly lower postpartum depressive symptoms than the control group (M = 1.25 versus M = 6.73, p postpartum stress symptoms were not significant (p = .363). Finally, the results indicated that the experimental group experienced reduced postpartum depression when compared to the control group (M = 5.69 versus M = 10.64, p postpartum.
Matched MeSH terms: Depression, Postpartum/prevention & control
BACKGROUND: Postnatal depression is a disorder that can lead to serious consequences for both the mother and infant. Despite the extensively documented health benefits of breastfeeding, its association with postnatal depression remains uncertain.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between full breastfeeding at 3 months postpartum and postnatal depressive symptoms among mothers in Sabah, Malaysia.
METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 2072 women was conducted in Sabah during 2009-2010. Participants were recruited at 36 to 38 weeks of gestation and followed up at 1 and 3 months postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the validated Malay version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Repeated-measures analyses of variance was performed to compare the depression scores over time and between subgroups of breastfeeding mothers.
RESULTS: Approximately 46% of women were fully breastfeeding their infants at 3 months postpartum. These mothers had significantly (P < .001) lower mean EPDS scores at both 1 and 3 months postpartum (mean ± SD, 4.14 ± 4.12 and 4.27 ± 4.12, respectively) than others who did not initiate or maintain full breastfeeding for 3 months (4.94 ± 4.34 and 5.25 ± 4.05, respectively). After controlling for the effects of covariates, the differences in EPDS scores remained statistically significant (P = .001) between the 2 breastfeeding groups.
CONCLUSION: Full breastfeeding appeared to be negatively associated with postnatal depressive symptoms for mothers residing in Sabah.
Study site: 5 maternal and child health clinics in Kota Kinabalu and Penampang Districts of Sabah, Malaysia