Living With Parents-In-Law Increased the Risk of Postpartum Depression in Chinese Women.

Songxu Peng,Yanhong Jia,Liping Meng,Jing Yang,Jun Qiu,Yukai Du,Xiangyang Zhang,Kewei Wang,Xin Lai,Ying Bai

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.736306

Abstract

Background: A variety of psychological and socioeconomic factors contribute to the development of postpartum depression (PPD). However, the relationship between maternal living arrangements and PPD is unclear.Objective: To assess the relationship between maternal living arrangements and PPD in Chinese population.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among puerperal women delivered in Baoan Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Shenzhen, China. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to assess PPD. A score of ≥10 was used as the threshold for postpartum depression.Results: A total of 4,813 women were recruited, of whom 2,535 (52.7%) lived only with their husbands, 664 (13.8%) lived with their parents, and 1,614 (33.5%) lived with their parents-in-law. Compared with women who lived with husbands, puerperal women who lived with their parents-in-law were more likely to be positive for PPD screening (14.1 vs. 10.5%, P < 0.001). After adjusting for other influencing factors, living with parents-in-law was significantly associated with the risk of PPD (OR = 1.38, 95% CI, 1.12–1.70). Additionally, stratification analyses showed that the association between living with parents-in-law and the presence of PPD was more significant in women with anxiety during pregnancy (P for interaction <0.05).Conclusions and Relevance: Our data confirms that the maternal living arrangements affect the risk of PPD, especially among women with anxiety during pregnancy. Therefore, more targeted preventive measures should be taken for postpartum depression in women who live with their parents-in-law.

Highlights

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common perinatal complication, affecting 0.5–60% of women worldwide [1, 2]
The prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) was significantly different between women living only with husbands and women living with parents-in-law (P < 0.001)
A large-scale cohort study in Japan found that puerperal women who did not live with their parents-in-law had a lower risk of PPD compared with those who lived with these family members [25], suggesting that co-residency with parents-in-law may damage postpartum mental status

Summary

Introduction

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common perinatal complication, affecting 0.5–60% of women worldwide [1, 2]. There is accumulating evidence that PPD increases the risk of death for mothers and children [4]. Mothers with PPD tend to have a poor marital relationship and impaired social function [5, 6]. Previous studies have shown that maternal PPD can impair the cognitive, emotional, and physical development of offspring in infancy, childhood and even adolescence [7,8,9]. Findings from published studies have identified several risk factors associated with PPD, including lack of social support, adverse childhood experiences, stressful life events, unsatisfactory marital relationship, and fetal or neonatal health problems [10,11,12,13,14]. A variety of psychological and socioeconomic factors contribute to the development of postpartum depression (PPD). The relationship between maternal living arrangements and PPD is unclear

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion