Parental Birth-Related PTSD Symptoms and Bonding in the Early Postpartum Period: A Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study.

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_44CD5092EFCB
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Parental Birth-Related PTSD Symptoms and Bonding in the Early Postpartum Period: A Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study.
Journal
Frontiers in psychiatry
Author(s)
Stuijfzand Suzannah, Garthus-Niegel Suzan, Horsch Antje
ISSN
1664-0640 (Print)
ISSN-L
1664-0640
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2020
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
11
Pages
570727
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: epublish
Abstract
The parent-infant bond following childbirth is an important facilitator of optimal infant development. So far, research has mainly focused on mother-infant bonding. Data on fathers are still sparse. Parental mental health, such as posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSD), may influence mother-infant relations and/or interactions. There is evidence that both parents can experience PTSD symptoms following childbirth (PTSD-CB). The aim of this study is to investigate the prospective relationship between parental PTSD-CB symptoms at 1 month postpartum and perceived parent-infant bonding at 3 months postpartum, while adjusting for antenatal confounders. A subsample was used for this study (n <sub>Totalsample</sub> 488, n <sub>mothers</sub> = 356, n <sub>fathers</sub> = 132) of an ongoing prospective cohort study. Future parents awaiting their third trimester antenatal appointments at a Swiss university hospital were recruited. Self-report questionnaires assessed PTSD-CB symptoms and psychological distress at 1 month postpartum, and parent-infant bonding at 3 months postpartum. Confounders included antenatal PTSD symptoms and social support measured via self-report questionnaires, and gestity and gestational age, extracted from medical records. Using structural equation modeling, the predictive ability of PTSD-CB symptoms at 1 month postpartum on parent-infant bonding at 3 months postpartum was assessed for both parents respectively. Maternal PTSD-CB symptoms at 1 month postpartum were found to be negatively prospectively associated with mother-infant bonding at 3 months postpartum; however, this effect disappeared after adjusting for psychological distress at 1 month postpartum. No such effects were found for fathers. There was no evidence of mediation of the relationship between parental PTSD-CB symptoms at 1 month postpartum and parental-infant bonding at 3 months postpartum via psychological distress at 1 month postpartum. However, such a mediation was found for maternal intrusion and hyperarousal symptom subscales. Results expand the current literature on the impact of PTSD-CB on parent-child relations to also include fathers, and to a community sample. Any adverse effects of mental health symptoms on parent-infant bonding were evidenced by 3 months postpartum only for mothers, not fathers. Our results may inform the development of prevention/intervention strategies.
Keywords
Psychiatry and Mental health, birth-related posttraumatic stress disorder, childbirth, cohort, fathers, longitudinal, parent-infant bonding, perinatal mental health, postpartum
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
24/09/2020 13:28
Last modification date
21/11/2022 8:31
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