School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
The Center of Internet Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2023;14(1):2157481. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2022.2157481.
Childbirth is a major life event with expected positive outcomes, yet for some women postnatal psychopathological symptoms may harm women's interpersonal relationships. We hypothesized that higher levels of postnatal depression, post-traumatic stress (PTSD) symptoms, and fear of childbirth would be associated with mother-baby bond disorders and relationship dissatisfaction in couples. A cross-sectional self-report online questionnaire was used to survey partnered women who had delivered in the year prior to the study. We used a convenience sample of 228 women recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Childbirth experience, PTSD symptoms, attachment style, depression, mother-baby bond disorders, and couple relationship dissatisfaction were measured. Women with higher PTSD and postnatal depression scores reported higher levels of mother-baby bond disorders-a relationship fully mediated by postnatal depression symptoms. Women who perceived childbirth as fearful or anxiety provoking had higher levels of PTSD and postnatal depression symptoms. Fearful and anxious birth perception was positively associated with mother-baby bond disorders-an association partly mediated by PTSD symptoms. Insecure attachment style was not found to be significantly associated with fearful or anxious perceptions of childbirth. Women who have postnatal PTSD/depression are less inclined to participate in a study of this nature. Also, online surveys prevented the use of clinical diagnoses of PTSD and depression. Our results suggest that PTSD and postnatal depression affect women's mental health and family bonding. Women should be assessed for negative traumatic birth experiences, PTSD, and depression, to allow targeted observation for psychopathologies and therapeutic interventions.
分娩是一个具有预期积极结果的重大生活事件，但对于一些女性来说，产后心理病理症状可能会损害她们的人际关系。我们假设，产后抑郁、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）症状和对分娩的恐惧程度越高，与母婴纽带障碍和夫妻关系不满有关。采用横断面自我报告的在线问卷对研究前一年内分娩的已婚妇女进行调查。我们使用了方便样本，通过有目的和滚雪球抽样方法招募了 228 名女性。测量了分娩经历、PTSD 症状、依恋风格、抑郁、母婴纽带障碍和夫妻关系不满。PTSD 和产后抑郁得分较高的女性报告母婴纽带障碍程度更高——这种关系完全由产后抑郁症状介导。认为分娩可怕或引起焦虑的女性 PTSD 和产后抑郁症状水平较高。对分娩的恐惧和焦虑感知与母婴纽带障碍呈正相关——这种关联部分由 PTSD 症状介导。不安全的依恋风格与对分娩的恐惧或焦虑感知没有显著关联。患有产后 PTSD/抑郁的女性不太可能参与此类研究。此外，在线调查阻止了 PTSD 和抑郁症的临床诊断的使用。我们的研究结果表明，PTSD 和产后抑郁症会影响女性的心理健康和家庭联系。应评估女性是否有负面的创伤性分娩经历、PTSD 和抑郁，以便对精神病理学进行有针对性的观察和治疗干预。
