Ronja Schaber1, Marlene Karl2, Marie Kopp2, Victoria Kress2, Kerstin Weidner2, Julia Martini3, Susan Garthus-Niegel4. 1. Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: ronja.schaber@uniklinikum-dresden.de. 2. Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. 3. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 4. Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany; Department of Child Health and Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Many mothers combine two sides of their life: They are both educated employees and family organizers. The aim of this study is to investigate risk and protective factors of depressive symptoms during the postpartum period (PPD symptoms) on both those sides of mothers' life, including education, job-, and housework-related factors. METHODS: Data (n = 689) were drawn from the prospective-longitudinal cohort study "Dresden Study on Parenting, Work, and Mental Health" (DREAM). Education, job satisfaction, job burden, and the housework-related factor ministering to family needs (MTFN) were measured during pregnancy. Depressive symptoms were measured 8 weeks postpartum. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: While education was not significantly associated with PPD symptoms, low job satisfaction, high job burden, and low MTFN levels were significant risk factors for PPD symptoms. When controlling for further potential confounders, job satisfaction and job burden remained significant predictors. LIMITATIONS: Generalization of findings might be limited due to participation bias and some systematic dropout. CONCLUSIONS: Job characteristics should be considered in future research on postpartum mental health. For the prevention of PPD symptoms, it seems important to ensure satisfying and less burdensome working conditions during pregnancy. Additionally, the results indicate that further research on the effects of housework-related factors on PPD symptoms is worthwhile.
BACKGROUND: Many mothers combine two sides of their life: They are both educated employees and family organizers. The aim of this study is to investigate risk and protective factors of depressive symptoms during the postpartum period (PPD symptoms) on both those sides of mothers' life, including education, job-, and housework-related factors. METHODS: Data (n = 689) were drawn from the prospective-longitudinal cohort study "Dresden Study on Parenting, Work, and Mental Health" (DREAM). Education, job satisfaction, job burden, and the housework-related factor ministering to family needs (MTFN) were measured during pregnancy. Depressive symptoms were measured 8 weeks postpartum. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: While education was not significantly associated with PPD symptoms, low job satisfaction, high job burden, and low MTFN levels were significant risk factors for PPD symptoms. When controlling for further potential confounders, job satisfaction and job burden remained significant predictors. LIMITATIONS: Generalization of findings might be limited due to participation bias and some systematic dropout. CONCLUSIONS: Job characteristics should be considered in future research on postpartum mental health. For the prevention of PPD symptoms, it seems important to ensure satisfying and less burdensome working conditions during pregnancy. Additionally, the results indicate that further research on the effects of housework-related factors on PPD symptoms is worthwhile.
Authors: Marlene Karl; Ronja Schaber; Victoria Kress; Marie Kopp; Julia Martini; Kerstin Weidner; Susan Garthus-Niegel Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2020-10-06 Impact factor: 3.295