The relationship of childbirth experience with postpartumdepression and anxiety: a cross-sectional study

Background: The childbirth experience is a personal life event that is influencedby physiologic and mental-psychological processes. Due to the prevalence ofpsychiatric problems after childbirth, it is important to recognize the factorsaffecting women’s emotional reactions. This study was conducted to define therelationship of childbirth experience with postpartum anxiety and depression.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on ۳۹۹ women from ۱ to ۴months after their childbirth who were referred to health centers in Tabriz-Iran.Socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics questionnaire, ChildbirthExperience Questionnaire (CEQ ۲.۰), Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale(EPDS), and Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale (PSAS) were used to collect thedata.Results: The mean (SD) of the overall score for childbirth experience, anxiety,and depression were ۲.۹ (۰.۲) (score range: ۱ to ۴), ۹۱.۶ (۴.۸) (score range: ۰to۱۵۳), and ۹.۴ (۰.۷) (score range: ۰ to ۳۰), respectively. There was a significantinverse correlation between the overall score of childbirth experiences, thedepression score (r= -۰.۳۶, p < ۰.۰۰۱), and the anxiety score (r= -۰.۱۲, p = ۰.۰۲۸)based on the Pearson correlation test. According to the general linear modelingand with adjustment of socio-demographic characteristics, with the increasingscore of the childbirth experience, the depression score decreased (B= -۰.۲;۹۵%CI: -۰.۳ to -۰.۱). Moreover, the variable of control during pregnancy was apredictor for postpartum depression and anxiety, so in women with the controlduring pregnancy, the mean score of postpartum depression (B= -۱.۸; CI ۹۵%: -۳.۰to -۰.۵; P = ۰.۰۰۴) and anxiety (B=-۶.۰; CI ۹۵%: -۱۰.۱ to -۱.۶; P = ۰.۰۰۷) was less.Conclusion: Based on the study results, postpartum depression and anxiety are related to childbirth experiences, therefore considering the effects of mothers’mental health on other aspects of a woman and her family’s life

کلیدواژه ها:

Childbirth experience ، Depression ، Anxiety