Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Birth. 2021 Sep;48(3):438-447. doi: 10.1111/birt.12553. Epub 2021 May 19.
After giving birth, women experience significant changes related to maternal self-efficacy and social support and are at risk of experiencing postpartum anxiety and depression.
No studies have focused on the relationship between parity and infant age and their impact on psychosocial outcomes, particularly in a Canadian context.
To explore the relationship between parity and infant age on perceived maternal self-efficacy, social support, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum depression.
Women from three Canadian provinces within the first 6 months postpartum completed standardized online questionnaires. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to examine the primary aim.
A total of 561 women (56.5% primiparous, 55.1% infant 0-3 months) participated. There were significant main effects for both parity (P < .001) and age of infant (P < .001), but no significant interaction (P = .463). Primiparous women had lower maternal self-efficacy (P = .004) and higher postpartum anxiety (P = .000) than multiparous women. Women with younger infants had more perceived social support (P = .002). Women with older infants had higher levels of postpartum anxiety (P = .003) and depression (P = .000).
The transition that women experience, independent of parity, within the first six months is dynamic with women of older infants experiencing more postpartum mental health concerns and less perceived social support. Our findings emphasize that postnatal support should extend beyond the typical six-week follow-up period.
Additional studies are warranted to determine ways to provide ongoing support throughout the first six months and beyond to improve maternal well-being and address postpartum needs.
产后，女性经历与母性自我效能和社会支持相关的重大变化，并且有出现产后焦虑和抑郁的风险。
没有研究关注过生育次数和婴儿年龄与心理社会结局之间的关系，特别是在加拿大背景下。
探讨生育次数和婴儿年龄对产妇自我效能感、社会支持、产后焦虑和产后抑郁的影响。
产后 6 个月内的来自加拿大三个省份的女性完成了标准化的在线问卷调查。采用协方差的多变量分析来检验主要目的。
共有 561 名女性（56.5%初产妇，55.1%婴儿 0-3 个月）参与了研究。生育次数（P < 0.001）和婴儿年龄（P < 0.001）均有显著的主效应，但无显著的交互作用（P = 0.463）。初产妇的母性自我效能感较低（P = 0.004），产后焦虑程度较高（P = 0.000），而多产妇则反之。婴儿较小时，产妇感知到的社会支持更多（P = 0.002）。婴儿较大时，产妇的产后焦虑（P = 0.003）和抑郁（P = 0.000）程度更高。
女性在头六个月经历的过渡，独立于生育次数，是动态的，年长婴儿的女性会经历更多的产后心理健康问题和较少的感知社会支持。我们的研究结果强调，产后支持应该延长到典型的六周随访期之外。
需要进一步研究确定在头六个月及以后提供持续支持的方法，以改善产妇的健康状况并满足产后的需求。
