Department of Education, Languages, Intercultures, Literatures and Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Psychol Health Med. 2022 Apr;27(4):896-901. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2021.1956554. Epub 2021 Jul 23.
A woman's first childbirth represents a moment of elevated maternal emotional vulnerability. Indeed, there is a prevalence of anxiety and depression symptomatology in primiparas during the postpartum period that negatively influences the well-being of the woman, of her newborn, and of the quality of their attachment bond. Much attention has been paid to the possible risk factors involved in the onset of mood disturbance in the postpartum. However, knowledge is still limited regarding the role played by the specific clinical aspects linked to labor. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore whether spontaneous or elective induction labor is linked to the level of postnatal depression and anxiety three months after birth. One hundred and sixty-one women (M = 31.63; SD = 4.88) were recruited, using the following inclusion criteria: native Italian women; age > 18 years; physically and psychologically healthy nulliparous with singleton no-risk pregnancy; no previous abortion or interruption of pregnancy; no previous psychopathological diagnoses. Exclusion criteria: twin pregnancy, fetal pathologies, and planned elective cesarean. Data was collected at two different times: T1 (day of childbirth) clinical data of labor (spontaneous or induced) from hospital records; T2 (three months after birth) level of mother's depression and anxiety. In order to explore if the level of depression and anxiety three months after childbirth differ in women according to the type of labor, spontaneous or induced, two univariate analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted. Results showed that women who had a spontaneous labor reported lower levels of anxiety and depression than women who had an induced labor. Our results highlight the significant implications that the mode of labor has on the emotional well-being of mothers, underlining the need to support women throughout all their transition to motherhood, including the childbirth experience.
初产妇的首次分娩代表着其处于情绪脆弱的特殊时期。事实上，初产妇在产后阶段普遍存在焦虑和抑郁症状，这对女性、新生儿及其依恋关系的质量都有负面影响。人们已经对产后情绪障碍发生的可能风险因素给予了极大关注。然而，对于与分娩相关的特定临床方面所起作用的认识仍然有限。因此，本研究旨在探讨自然分娩或选择性引产是否与产后三个月的抑郁和焦虑水平有关。本研究共纳入 161 名女性（M=31.63，SD=4.88），纳入标准为：意大利裔女性；年龄＞18 岁；身心健康的初产妇，单胎妊娠，无妊娠风险；无流产或妊娠中断史；无既往精神病理诊断。排除标准：双胎妊娠、胎儿疾病和计划选择性剖宫产。数据在两个不同时间点收集：T1（分娩日），从医院记录中获取分娩（自然或诱导）的临床数据；T2（产后三个月），母亲抑郁和焦虑的水平。为了探讨产后三个月母亲的抑郁和焦虑水平是否因分娩方式（自然或诱导）而异，进行了两次单因素方差分析（ANOVA）。结果表明，与接受诱导分娩的女性相比，自然分娩的女性报告的焦虑和抑郁水平较低。我们的研究结果强调了分娩方式对母亲情绪健康的重要影响，突出了在整个母亲过渡期间支持女性的必要性，包括分娩经历。
