Tengteng Li1, Nafei Guo1, Hui Jiang2, Maher Eldadah3, Wei Zhuang1. 1. Nursing Department of Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, No.2699, West Gaoke Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 201204, China. 2. Nursing Department of Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, No.2699, West Gaoke Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 201204, China. Electronic address: jianghuitest@163.com. 3. Kaweah Delta Hospital, Visalia, CA, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Depression is the most prevalent psychiatric disease during and after pregnancy (Aktas and Yesilcicek, 2015). Social supportive system (SSS) serves to protect against the development of depressive symptoms (Moshki and Cheravi, 2016). The mitigating effect of SSS on depression among expectant Chinese women is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the SSS for pregnant women in Shanghai, China and identify any correlation between social support components and perinatal depression. METHODS: This is a quantitative study using a cross sectional self-reporting survey. Two thousand pregnant women were recruited during their second trimester routine pregnancy check-up. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the socio-demographic and perinatal characteristics, level of social support and depression among the study group. The correlation analysis was conducted between groups of different socio-economic and perinatal factors and SSS, as well as between different SSS components and perinatal depression. RESULTS: Components of social support most influencing perinatal depression were "Support from partner", "The number of close friends accessible of getting support" and "Support from colleagues" [r = -0.226, 0.206, -0.200, respectively]. Among the different components of the SSS, the items ranking high were: "Support from partner", "The living conditions in the last year" and "Support from parents". Meanwhile, "Support from neighborhood", "Participation in group activities" and "The number of close friends accessible of getting support" ranked low. CONCLUSION: Support from the family may be a protective factor against perinatal depression among Chinese pregnant women. The study of social support during pregnancy could help us preferably understand and effectively use social resources to guide and support women in pregnancy. Context-tailored support enhancement should be based on the availability of social networks.
BACKGROUND:Depression is the most prevalent psychiatric disease during and after pregnancy (Aktas and Yesilcicek, 2015). Social supportive system (SSS) serves to protect against the development of depressive symptoms (Moshki and Cheravi, 2016). The mitigating effect of SSS on depression among expectant Chinese women is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the SSS for pregnant women in Shanghai, China and identify any correlation between social support components and perinatal depression. METHODS: This is a quantitative study using a cross sectional self-reporting survey. Two thousand pregnant women were recruited during their second trimester routine pregnancy check-up. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the socio-demographic and perinatal characteristics, level of social support and depression among the study group. The correlation analysis was conducted between groups of different socio-economic and perinatal factors and SSS, as well as between different SSS components and perinatal depression. RESULTS: Components of social support most influencing perinatal depression were "Support from partner", "The number of close friends accessible of getting support" and "Support from colleagues" [r = -0.226, 0.206, -0.200, respectively]. Among the different components of the SSS, the items ranking high were: "Support from partner", "The living conditions in the last year" and "Support from parents". Meanwhile, "Support from neighborhood", "Participation in group activities" and "The number of close friends accessible of getting support" ranked low. CONCLUSION: Support from the family may be a protective factor against perinatal depression among Chinese pregnant women. The study of social support during pregnancy could help us preferably understand and effectively use social resources to guide and support women in pregnancy. Context-tailored support enhancement should be based on the availability of social networks.
Authors: Hilary I Okagbue; Patience I Adamu; Sheila A Bishop; Pelumi E Oguntunde; Abiodun A Opanuga; Elvir M Akhmetshin Journal: Open Access Maced J Med Sci Date: 2019-05-14