Rattaz Valentine, Cairo Notari Sarah, Avignon Valérie, Achtari Chahin, Horsch Antje
Institute of Higher Education and Research in Healthcare, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Front Psychol. 2025 Apr 15;16:1477316. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1477316. eCollection 2025.
This study investigates the impact of the severity of perineal tear during childbirth on parenting stress at 10-12 weeks postpartum. Studies have shown that up to 80% of primiparous mothers may suffer a perineal tear, which can have important physical and psychological consequences. As the adjustment to parenthood can be highly demanding and stressful for primiparous parents, we hypothesized that having experienced a perineal tear during childbirth could be an additional stressor reducing the resources to cope, which could increase parenting stress. We also hypothesized that this increase in parenting stress could be explained by the consequences of the perineal tear on mothers' physical health and depressive symptoms.
This study included 155 primiparous mothers with various degrees of perineal tear (from an intact perineum to a 4th degree tear).
Results showed that perineal tear was not directly associated with parenting stress at 10-12 weeks postpartum. However, we found an indirect pathway of influence through mothers' physical health and depressive symptoms. Higher degrees of perineal tear were associated with worse physical health in mothers causing an increase in depressive symptoms that, in turn, was associated with higher parenting stress.
The results indicate that perineal tear is indirectly associated with parenting stress, through its influence on physical health and depressive symptoms. Therefore, it seems crucial to focus on managing the physical consequences of perineal tear in the first weeks postpartum, to avoid detrimental consequences on mothers' mental health and parenting.
本研究调查了分娩时会阴撕裂的严重程度对产后10 - 12周育儿压力的影响。研究表明，高达80%的初产妇可能会遭受会阴撕裂，这可能会产生重要的生理和心理后果。由于初为人父母对初产妇来说要求很高且压力很大，我们假设分娩时经历会阴撕裂可能是一个额外的压力源，会减少应对资源，从而增加育儿压力。我们还假设育儿压力的增加可以通过会阴撕裂对母亲身体健康和抑郁症状的影响来解释。
本研究纳入了155名有不同程度会阴撕裂（从会阴完整到四度撕裂）的初产妇。
结果显示，会阴撕裂与产后10 - 12周的育儿压力没有直接关联。然而，我们发现了一条通过母亲身体健康和抑郁症状的间接影响途径。更高程度的会阴撕裂与母亲更差的身体健康相关，这导致抑郁症状增加，而抑郁症状反过来又与更高的育儿压力相关。
结果表明，会阴撕裂通过对身体健康和抑郁症状的影响，与育儿压力存在间接关联。因此，在产后最初几周关注会阴撕裂的身体后果管理，以避免对母亲心理健康和育儿产生不利影响似乎至关重要。
