Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Jan 19, 2024; 14(1): 119-127
Published online Jan 19, 2024. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i1.119
Postpartum depression and partner support during the period of lactation: Correlation research and its influencing factors
Ji-Ming Ruan, Ling-Juan Wu
Ji-Ming Ruan, Ling-Juan Wu, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Huzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Ruan JM acquired the data and drafted the first version of the paper; Wu LJ acquired and interpreted the data, and critically appraised the paper; all authors have approved the version to be published.
Supported by Medical Health Science and Technology Project of Huzhou City, No. 2022GY41.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Huzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital (Zhejiang Province).
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.
Data sharing statement: Data used in this study were obtained from the corresponding author.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ling-Juan Wu, BSc, Nurse, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Huzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, No. 2 East Street, Yuehe Street, Wuxing District, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang Province, China. wulingjuan110@163.com
Received: October 26, 2023
Peer-review started: October 26, 2023
First decision: November 8, 2023
Revised: November 20, 2023
Accepted: December 5, 2023
Article in press: December 5, 2023
Published online: January 19, 2024
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Postpartum depression (PPD) not only causes anxiety, lower self-image, self-guilt, and other conditions in lactating women but also has adverse effects on the health of the baby. PPD can appear in normal life circumstances and negative life events such as marital discord. Good partner support can not only help patients physically but also provide psychological support. Exploring the relationship between PPD and dyadic coping inventory (DCI) in lactating women and analyzing the related influencing factors of PPD are helpful for clinical interventions from related factors to prevent and alleviate the occurrence of PPD.

Research motivation

Negative partner support, marital disharmony, and unhealthy newborns were associated with PPD in lactating women.

Research objectives

By exploring the relationship between PPD and partner support and the factors affecting PPD in lactating women, it is helpful to provide a reference for the clinical construction of PPD intervention programs and partner support strategies.

Research methods

A general information questionnaire, edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) scale, and DCI scale were used to investigate the correlation between PPD and partner support during lactation, and to further analyze the factors affecting the level of PPD.

Research results

The total average score of EPDS of 200 women during lactation was (9.52 ± 1.53), and the total average score of partner support was (115.78 ± 14.90), both of which were at the medium level. The degree of marital harmony, neonatal health, stress communication, mutual support, negative support, common support, and total partner support score were factors influencing PPD in lactating women.

Research conclusions

Through research, we found that the poor psychological health of lactating women is significantly related to their partner support. By analyzing the influencing factors of women's PPD, providing timely psychological help and encouraging partners to provide maternal support and care will help to improve the PPD level of lactating women.

Research perspectives

Future research should establish a predictive model based on the factors influencing PPD in lactating women.