Burnout, depression and anxiety levels in mothers of infants with brachial plexus injury and the effects of recovery on mothers’ mental health

Abstract

Objective To evaluate depression, anxiety and burnout in mothers of infants with brachial plexus injury and assess the effects of the severity of injury on the mothers’ mental health, as the literature provides no information on this topic. Study design The study was based on eighteen mothers without psychiatric antecedents who had infants with perinatal brachial plexus paralysis (PBPP). The severity of the brachial plexus injury was classified according to the Narakas classification system. The recovery rate following conservative treatment was classified according to the Modified Mallet Classification System. The Maslach burnout inventory, Beck depression inventory, and Beck anxiety inventory were administered to the mothers. Results The mothers whose infants were in the third Narakas group were mildly depressed and the depression scores of the mothers in Narakas groups II and III were regularly increased. Mothers in the first and second groups reported a minimal level of anxiety scores. There was no statistically significant difference between the depression, anxiety, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment scores of the mothers in relation to the severity of the injury in the child ( p = 0.218, p = 0.078, p = 0.149, p = 0.138, and p = 0.246). In addition, the depression and anxiety levels of the mothers whose infants recovered fully or partially showed a statistically significant decrease when compared to the mothers of infants with no recovery ( p = 0.003, p = 0.015). There was, however, no statistically significant difference between the emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment scores of the mothers of infants with full recovery, partial recovery and no recovery ( p = 0.591, p = 0591, p = 0.062). Conclusion Infants’ disability may cause psychological distress in their mothers. When brachial plexus injury is predicted in infants, more mothers may become depressed.