Stressful life events and women's mental health during pregnancy and postpartum period

Abstract

Stressful life events can affect the mental health of women during pregnancy and the postpartum period. This study investigated the relationship between sociodemographic variables, stressors during pregnancy and women's mental health during pregnancy and postpartum. Seventy-nine pregnant women responded to the Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) and, in the first month of the baby's life, to the Stressful Life Events Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-I). Regression analysis revealed that: (a) the score of common mental disorders in pregnancy was the only significant predictor of postpartum depression; (b) when the effects of postpartum depression on the perception of stressful life events were controlled, the impact of stressful life events on the variance in common mental disorders during pregnancy disappeared, and only the income remained as a significant predictor. These findings indicate the stability of the symptoms of mental disorders from pregnancy to the postpartum period.