Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology最新文献

Background: Pregnancy to postpartum is a critical transition period for changes in mental health, including disordered eating habits and body image concerns. In order to understand why some people experience new or worsening eating disorder symptoms during this period, it is important to gather insights from individuals with recent lived experience of pregnancy. Lived experience is also valuable for informing how to best address eating disorder concerns in obstetric healthcare settings.

Methods: Women around eight weeks postpartum (N = 175) completed surveys that included open-ended questions about eating habits, body-related self-perception, and healthcare experiences during the peripartum period. These responses were coded using structured tabular thematic analysis to identify common themes.

Results: About 45% and 25% of participants in our sample endorsed self-critical responses to changes in body shape/weight and eating habits, respectively. Smaller proportions of the sample endorsed acceptance of or empowerment from physical changes. Factors that impacted how individuals responded to physical changes included expectations, social factors, physiological factors, and stage of pregnancy. Commonly endorsed suggestions for healthcare providers included reduced weight-focused judgement and increased nutritional guidance.

Conclusion: Identified themes provide insight into what factors may contribute to risk for unhelpful changes in eating habits and body image concerns during pregnancy and postpartum. Future research should quantitatively explore these themes and their relation to postpartum mental and physical health outcomes. This research highlights the importance of incorporating lived experience into discussions of peripartum mental health and obstetric healthcare.

Aims/background: Parents of multiples (twins, triplets+) have elevated postpartum mental health risks. About half of such parents desire postpartum mental health treatment, but only a minority receive care. We examined the feasibility and acceptability of Be A Mom - a self-guided web-based postpartum mental health intervention - in mothers of multiples (MoMs).

Design/methods: Thirty-seven women who gave birth to their first set of multiples in the past year were recruited on Portuguese-language postpartum support websites on social media. Participants completed baseline measures and were granted access to the Be A Mom platform for 8 weeks. They then answered questions evaluating feasibility and acceptability and provided feedback via brief, semi-structured interviews.

Results: Of 26 participants who completed baseline measures, 8 (30.77%) used Be A Mom. One completed all five modules. Seven completed some content. The median number of completed modules was 1.50 (30%). Participants logged into the platform a median of 6 times, spending 27.50 min on Be A Mom. Lack of time was universally endorsed as a barrier to greater engagement; participants suggested more audio-only content as a solution. Overall perceived quality was high (3.25/4). Acceptability was good, particularly for enjoyment, credibility, learning, worthiness, utility, and relevance. Participants suggested adding multiples-specific content.

Conclusion: With adaptations, Be a Mom has promise as a feasible, acceptable, and accessible way to support MoMs' postpartum mental health. Future work should use a larger sample of new MoMs to test the effects of a tailored version of the intervention on depression, anxiety, stress, and well-being.

Aims/background: The present study aims to address the limitations of previous Spanish validation studies of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ), including limited diagnostic range and clinical severity, and inconsistent factor structures. Specifically, the aim of this further validation is twofold: to evaluate the factor structure of the PBQ in a sample of Spanish mothers to determine a replicable structure, and to validate the Spanish version of both the full PBQ (25 items) and a reduced 14-item version (PBQ14), in a sample of mothers with and without bonding disorders, including a broader range of bonding issues and more severe cases than in previous Spanish validations.

Design/methods: Data were collected from two independent samples of mothers. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on a sample of 364 mothers to assess the validity of previously proposed PBQ factor structures. Additionally, criterion validity was evaluated in a sample of 162 mothers by comparing PBQ scores with bonding disorder diagnoses obtained through the Stafford Interview.

Results: The findings confirm the validity of both the 25-item Spanish version (PBQ25) and the 14-item Japanese version (PBQ14) within the Spanish population. In the second sample, optimal total score cut-off points were identified: 19 or higher for the PBQ25 and 14 or higher for the PBQ14.

Conclusion: This study further validates the Spanish version of the PBQ, confirming the factorial validity of the PBQ25 and proposing the PBQ14 as a short, versatile, and clinically useful screening tool for detecting mother-infant bonding disorders in the Spanish population.

Aims/background: We aimed to adapt, pilot and explore experiences of receiving and delivering the video feedback intervention for positive parenting (VIPP) for 2 to 6 month old babies, mothers experiencing moderate to severe perinatal mental health difficulties and perinatal mental health clinicians.

Design/methods: The VIPP intervention was adapted to include developmentally appropriate activities and developmental psychoeducation for 2 to 6 month olds, alongside psychoeducation on emotion regulation, and then piloted in 14 mothers experiencing moderate to severe perinatal mental health difficulties (registration ISRCTN64237883). Observational and self-reported pre-post outcome data on parenting and parent-infant mental health was collected, and post-intervention qualitative interviews were conducted with participating mothers and clinicians.

Results: Consent (67%), intervention completion (79%) and follow-up rates (93%) were high. Effect sizes on pre-post outcome measures indicated large improvements in parenting confidence and perceptions of the parent-infant relationship, and a medium-size improvement in maternal sensitivity. In qualitative interviews, clinicians and mothers described how mothers' initial anxieties about being filmed were allayed through receiving positive and strengths-focussed feedback, boosting their self-confidence, and that the video feedback facilitated identification of young babies' subtle behavioural cues and moments of mother-infant connection. Streamlining the information provided on maternal emotion regulation, and allowing increased use of clinical judgement to tailor intervention delivery, were suggested to optimise intervention feasibility and acceptability.

Conclusion: It is feasible and acceptable to implement VIPP with very young babies and their mothers experiencing perinatal mental health difficulties. A fully powered randomised controlled trial is required to establish intervention efficacy.

Background: B12 vitamin is essential for the functioning of the nervous system and the production of mood-related neurotransmitters. However, information on its association with postpartum depression (PPD) is limited.

Objective: To examine the effect of serum vitamin B12 levels during pregnancy on PPD, in healthy pregnant women from the Mediterranean region of Catalonia, Spain.

Method: This longitudinal study included a subsample of women at 54 days (7.7 weeks) postpartum (n = 336), who participated in the ECLIPSES Study conducted out in Tarragona, Spain. Maternal concentrations of vitamin B12 were determined in the first and third trimester of pregnancy and sociodemographic, nutritional, and psychological data were collected. PPD was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).

Results: The prevalence of probable PPD was 21%. After adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, biochemical parameters, and postpartum characteristics the regression model showed a negative association between EPDS scores and the highest quartile of serum vitamin B12 (first quartile (reference) vs. fourth quartile), (β = -1.267, 95% CI = -2.461, -0.073, p = 0.038).

Conclusion: Maintaining a normal-high level of vitamin B12 during early pregnancy can contributes to preventing PPD.

Background: Difficulties in reconciling work and family life are recognised as one of the major reasons for women delaying or even forgoing childbearing. Nonetheless, there are different mechanisms through which women's engagement in the labour market can impact their choices regarding having children. The current study focuses on the relationship between women's career orientation and the childbearing motivation of young, childless women. Additionally, we examine the moderating effect of women's self-esteem.

Methods: Questionnaires to assess women's childbearing motivation, career orientation (career commitment and career centeredness), and self-esteem were administered online to Polish childless women aged 18-25 (N = 358). Multivariate regression was performed to verify how professional aspirations determine childbearing motivation. Moderation analysis included self-esteem in the equation.

Results: Women's desire to be employed over their life course (career commitment) was associated with perceiving childbearing as less strenuous. However, women who placed a higher value on professional development perceived more costs and barriers related to parenthood. Women with higher self-esteem demonstrated a generally more negative view of childbearing, yet their perceived costs of having children increased along with rising professional aspirations.

Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that career aspirations are a highly complex construct, and their relationship to childbearing motivation may differ depending on how women perceive their future in the labour market. The mere desire to engage in professional work is not detrimental to childbearing motivation, but the anticipated costs of having children become greater the more a woman is career-centred and the lower her self-esteem.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore how mothers of children with disabilities perceive mothering through metaphor.

Subjects and methods: The study was conducted in March 2023 with 28 women who had experienced motherhood. The data were collected using the Descriptive Information Form and the Metaphorical Perceptions Form developed by the researchers who reviewed the literature. The women's metaphorical perceptions were obtained by filling in the following sentence: 'Being a mother of a child with disabilities is like/similar to … … … . because … … '.. The interviews were conducted individually using the in-depth interview method and analysed using the descriptive analysis technique.

Results: The metaphors created by mothers of children with disabilities were grouped under two main themes: interpretation and challenges. Each major theme contains sub-themes. The main theme of interpretation includes cleansing from sins and divine reward, empowerment, being privileged, and acceptance/change in outlook on life, while the sub-theme of challenges includes constant struggle, stigmatisation, imprisonment/isolation, and uncertainty.

Conclusion: The women involved in the study produced the most metaphors for their perceptions of being a mother of a child with a disability for the sub-theme of imprisonment/isolation in the main theme of challenges. On the other hand, the least number of metaphors were produced in the sub-theme of acceptance/change in the outlook on life in the main theme of interpretation. According to the results, the perception of motherhood of women with children with disabilities will especially guide midwives who are responsible for the care of children with disabilities aged 0-6 years, and mental health workers.

Background: Women's experience of childbirth can affect their mental health outcomes, many years after the delivery. Consequently, the World Health Organisation has provided recommendations to ensure women receive positive birth experiences during intrapartum care. Yet, negative childbirth experience is widespread in Ghana. This study examined the association between women's childbirth experience (i.e. own capacity, professional support, perceived safety, and participation) and their psychological well-being, and whether or not perceived social support and resilience moderate the childbirth experience - psychological well-being relationship.

Methods: Mothers (N = 117) who had given birth in the past month and were receiving postnatal care at two health facilities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana provided the data for the current analysis. Data were collected using the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire, WHO-5 Well-Being Index, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Brief Resilience Scale. Hierarchical Linear Regression was used to analyse the data.

Results: Results showed that childbirth experience domains of own capacity and perceived safety were significantly, and positively associated with psychological well-being. The domains of professional support and participation were not associated with psychological well-being in this sample. Perceived social support and resilience did not moderate the association between childbirth experience and psychological well-being.

Conclusion: The results suggest that efforts by birth practitioners (i.e. midwives, obstetricians, and gynaecologists) to give Ghanaian women positive childbirth experiences through the encouragement of personal control over the birthing process as well as ensuring the safety of the birthing procedure and environment would provide women with optimal mental health outcomes.

Aim: This study examines the associations among perinatal grief symptoms, bereavement-related guilt, and pregnancy-related anxiety in subsequent pregnancy within the framework of a hypothesised mourning model.

Method: Pregnant women with history of a perinatal loss were recruited using convenience sampling methods and completed a questionnaire set including the Perinatal Grief Scale, Bereavement Guilt Scale, and Pregnancy-related Anxiety Scale.

Results: Mediation analysis was performed to evaluate the hypothesised model in a sample of pregnant women with history of a perinatal loss (N = 111). The results indicated that bereavement-related guilt functions as a mediator in the relationship between perinatal grief severity and pregnancy-related anxiety experienced in subsequent pregnancies.

Conclusion: These findings were evaluated in light of previous studies, providing a bereavement-based perspective on the potential transmission of the mental effects of perinatal loss to subsequent pregnancy.