Employment During Pregnancy Protects Against Postpartum Depression (original) (raw)
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Women & Health, 2001
The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between the employment status of new mothers and their depressive symptoms at 6 months postpartum. In order to have a better understanding of these links, we investigated the role that socio-environmental characteristics of new mothers plays in this relationship. Employment status is conceived to be closely linked to the characteristics of new mothers and their environment that constitute some of the well-known risk factors for postpartum depressive disorders. For that reason, the possibility that these characteristics could intervene in the relationship between employment status and depressive symptoms was considered. Three types of links were explored: independent, interactive or indirect relationships. Analysis was performed on a sample of 447 women in one of the four following situations: working, being on maternity leave, being a homemaker or actively seeking employment. Results appear to indicate the presence of an indirect relationship between employment status and depressive symptoms. Women on maternity leave, and, to a lesser degree, working mothers, present characteristics that are associated with a good mental health. Homemakers and women seeking employment, however, seem to be placed in situations associated with depressive symptoms. These results underscore the possibility that employment status could lead to living conditions that have an impact on a new mother's mental health.
Women's Health
Approximately 13%–19% of new mothers report depression during the postpartum period. Returning to work after childbirth is associated with depression; however, it is unclear if this finding applies to women who are at high risk for postpartum depression. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between employment status and depression symptomatology among women at risk for postpartum depression (defined as personal or maternal history of depression). This study was a post hoc analysis from a previously conducted randomized controlled trial. Participants (n = 124; ages 18–42) were 7 months postpartum and had participated in a randomized trial examining the efficacy of an exercise intervention for the prevention of postpartum depression (study was conducted from January 2010 through November 2011). Participants completed questionnaires examining demographic characteristics and psychosocial variables at 6 weeks and 7 months postpartum. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depressio...
Motherhood, Employment and the Development of Depression
British Journal of Psychiatry, 1990
A prospective inquiry of a largely working-class sample of women with children considers the effect of employment on risk of developing clinical depression. The hypothesis was that there would be a direct protective effect arising from employment once quality of other support was taken into account. In fact full-time working mothers were at high risk. This appeared to be explained by either prior work strain or a severe event involving ‘deviant’ behaviour on the part of husband/boyfriend or child. Neither factor was relevant for part-time workers. The severe events appeared to be particularly depressogenic for full-time workers because they represented either failure in the motherhood role or a sense of entrapment in an unrewarding work/domestic situation. However, those in part-time work had a low rate of onset compared with non-workers, and the difference appears to be related to non-working women feeling less secure about their marriages.
Maternal Depressive Symptoms, Employment, and Social Support
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 2014
The purpose of this study was to characterize the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms and employment and whether it is mediated by social support. Methods: We used data from a nationally representative sample of 700 US women who gave birth in 2005 and completed 2 surveys in the Listening to Mothers series, the first in early 2006, an average of 7.3 months postpartum, and the second an average of 13.4 months postpartum. A dichotomous measure of depressive symptoms was calculated from the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and women reported their employment status and levels of social support from partners and others. We modeled the association between maternal employment and depressive symptoms using multivariate logistic regression, including social support and other control variables. Results: Maternal employment and high support from a nonpartner source were both independently associated with significantly lower odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.35 and P ؍ .011, and AOR, 0.40, P ؍ .011, respectively). These relationships remained significant after controlling for mothers' baseline mental and physical health, babies' health, and demographic characteristics (AOR, 0.326 and P ؍ .015, and AOR, 0.267 and P ؍ .025, respectively). Conclusions: Maternal employment and strong social support, particularly nonpartner support, were independently associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Clinicians should encourage mothers of young children who are at risk for depression to consider ways to optimize their employment circumstances and "other" social support.
Maternal Depression, Pregnancy Intention, and Return to Paid Work after Childbirth
Background Maternal depression is an important public health issue for women, their families, and their employers. Previous studies have examined the impact of leave duration on maternal depression, but none have studied the association between maternal depression and the pace of return to paid work. We examine herein the relationship between maternal depression and return to work, and the moderating effects of pregnancy intention. Methods We utilized data from the Listening to Mothers II Survey collected from January 20 through February 21, 2006. The woman had to be 18 to 45 years old, speak English, and have given birth in 2005 to a live singleton baby in a U.S. hospital. Our analyses were limited to women who worked for an employer during pregnancy (n = 882). The primary outcome was return to paid work at the time of the interview and the analyses utilized Cox proportional hazard models. Findings In combination, intending the baby and being depressed suppressed return to paid work. Nondepressed mothers with unintended pregnancies returned to work the soonest. Compared with mothers who were not depressed and with unintended pregnancy, the risk ratio of returning to paid work (0.70) was significantly lower for mothers who were depressed and had an intended pregnancy. Mothers who were not depressed and with intended pregnancy also had a significantly lower risk ratio (0.60) of returning to paid work than those who were not depressed and with unintended pregnancy. Conclusion Primary care providers and policy makers can use these findings to support employed women in their childbearing years.
2019
Pregnancy and postpartum are adaptation processes leading to physical and psychological changes. Pregnant and postpartum women are at risk of suffering psychological disorders, namely maternal depressive symptoms, a situation that is able to reduce the quality of life. Working mothers usually have double burdens, and those who suffer the symptoms in this situation would suffer worse impacts. This research is intended to know maternal depressive symptoms and factors leading to it for working mothers during their pregnancy and postpartum. The study employs a cross-sectional design. The population of the research is 97 working mothers who entrust their 1-12 months old babies in daycares in Bukittinggi. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is employed to measure maternal depressive symptoms, and the statistical test in use to see factors of age, parity, education, and income towards maternal depressive symptoms is chi-square. The research finds that most of the respondents do not...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
Postpartum depression (PPD) has detrimental effects on the health of the mother, child and family. Socio-demographic variables can influence PPD. Sense of coherence (SOC) is a personal resource that mitigates the experience of stressful events. We hypothesized that SOC would have a protective effect against PPD over time. The aim was to investigate the effects of socio-demographic factors and SOC on PPD at birth (T1) and nine months postpartum (T2). A longitudinal study of primiparous women (n = 114; age range 18-47 years) measured PPD, SOC and socio-demographics at T1 and T2. The majority were married, had no economic difficulties and were employed before birth. Results showed that PPD at T1 (15.8%) declined to 6.2% (T2). Job status was positively associated with SOC at T1. The structured equation model accounted for 27% of the variance in PPD (T2). In the first pathway, job status was linked to PPD (T2) via SOC at T1 and T2. In the second, SOC and PPD (T1) and SOC (T2) mediated the link between job status and PPD (T2). Results and clinical implications are discussed in the context of the theory of conservation of resources. An intervention for enhancing SOC is recommended for woman at risk of PPD.
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
Purpose To investigate the effects of total workload and other work-related factors on postpartum depression in the first 6 months after childbirth, utilizing a hybrid model of health and workforce participation. Methods We utilized data from the Maternal Postpartum Health Study collected in 2001 from a prospective cohort of 817 employed women who delivered in three community hospitals in Minnesota. Interviewers collected data at enrollment and 5 weeks, 11 weeks, and 6 months after childbirth. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale measured postpartum depression. Independent variables included total workload (paid and unpaid work), job flexibility, supervisor and coworker support, available social support, job satisfaction, infant sleep problems, infant irritable temperament, and breastfeeding. Results Total average daily workload increased from 14.4 h (6.8 h of paid work; 7.1% working at 5 weeks postpartum) to 15.0 h (7.9 h of paid work; 87% working at 6 months postpartum) over the 6 months. Fixed effects regression analyses showed worse depression scores were associated with higher total workload, lower job flexibility, lower social support, an infant with sleep problems, and breastfeeding. Conclusions Working mothers of reproductive years may find the study results valuable as they consider merging their work and parenting roles after childbirth. Future studies should examine the specific mechanisms through which total workload affects postpartum depressive symptoms.
Archives of Women's Mental Health, 2011
Maternal postpartum mental health is influenced by a broad range of risk and protective factors including social circumstances. Forty percent of Australian women resume employment in the first year postpartum, yet poor quality employment (without security, control, flexibility or leave) has not been investigated as a potential social determinant of maternal psychological distress. This paper examines whether poor quality jobs are associated with an increased risk of maternal postpartum psychological distress. Data were collected from employed mothers of infants ≤12 months (n=1,300) participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Logistic regression analyses estimated the association between job quality and maternal psychological distress, adjusting for prior depression, social support, quality of partner relationship, adverse life events and sociodemographic characteristics. Only 21% of women reported access to all four optimal job conditions. After adjustment for known risk factors for poor maternal mood, mothers were significantly more likely to report psychological distress (adjusted OR=1.39, 95% CI 1.09, 1.77) with each reduction in the number of optimal employment conditions. Interventions for maternal post-partum affective disorders are unlikely to be successful if major risk factors are not addressed. These results provide strong evidence that employment conditions are associated with maternal postpartum mood, and warrant consideration in psychosocial risk assessments and interventions.
Working-Class Jobs and New Parents' Mental Health
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2011
Little research has explored linkages between work conditions and mental health in workingclass employed parents. The current study aims to address this gap, employing hierarchical linear modeling techniques to examine how levels of and changes in job autonomy, job urgency, supervisor support, and coworker support predicted parents' depressive symptoms in a sample of 113 dual-earner couples interviewed five times across the transition to parenthood. Increases in job autonomy and decreases in job urgency predicted fewer depressive symptoms in fathers at 1 year postpartum. For mothers, coworker support predicted fewer depressive symptoms, and supervisor support mitigated the negative effects of job urgency on depressive