Birth expectations, birth experiences and childbirth‐related post‐traumatic stress symptoms in mothers and birth companions: Dyadic investigation using response surface analysis

Objectives: During the perinatal period, women and their birth companions form expectations about childbirth. We aimed to examine whether a mismatch between birth expectations and experiences predict childbirth‐related post‐traumatic stress symptoms (CB‐PTSS) for mothers and birth companions. We also explored the influence of the mismatch between mothers' and birth companions' expectations/experiences on CB‐PTSS. Design: Dyadic longitudinal data from the Self‐Hypnosis IntraPartum Trial. Methods: Participants (n = 469 mothers; n = 358 birth companions) completed questionnaires at 27 and 36 weeks of gestation and 2 and 6 weeks post‐partum. We used the measures of birth expectations (36 weeks gestation), birth experiences (2 weeks post‐partum) and CB‐PTSS (6 weeks post‐partum). Results: Correlations revealed that birth expectations were associated with experiences for both mothers and birth companions but were not consistently associated with CB‐PTSS. Birth experiences related to CB‐PTSS for both mothers and birth companions. The response surface analysis results showed no support for the effect of a mismatch between expectations and experiences on CB‐PTSS in mothers or birth companions. Similarly, a mismatch between mothers' and birth companions' expectations or experiences was unrelated to CB‐PTSS. Conclusions: Following previous literature, birth expectations were associated with experiences, and experiences were associated with CB‐PTSS. By testing the effect of the match between birth experiences and expectations using an advanced statistical method, we found that experiences play a more substantial role than the match between experiences and expectations in CB‐PTSS. The impact of birth experiences on CB‐PTSS highlights the importance of respectful and supportive maternity care

The impact of mode of delivery on parent-infant-bonding and the mediating role of birth experience: a comparison of mothers and fathers within the longitudinal cohort study DREAM

Abstract Background The association between mode of delivery (MOD) and parent-infant-bonding has only been studied in mothers and findings have been inconclusive. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate how MOD relates to postpartum parent-infant-bonding in both mothers and fathers and whether these associations are mediated by birth experience. Methods This study is part of the prospective cohort study “Dresden Study on Parenting, Work, and Mental Health” (DREAM). Our sample comprised N = 1,780 participants who completed quantitative questionnaires during pregnancy as well as 8 weeks and 14 months postpartum. MOD was dummy coded, contrasting spontaneous vaginal delivery against vaginal delivery induced by drugs, operative vaginal delivery, planned, and unplanned cesarean section. Parent-infant bonding and birth experience were assessed using validated scales. A moderated mediation analysis based on ordinary least square (OLS) regression and bootstrapped estimates was conducted, considering relevant confounding variables. Results Compared to spontaneous vaginal delivery, all categories of MOD predicted more negative birth experiences in both parents. A more positive birth experience predicted stronger parent-infant-bonding at 8 weeks, but not at 14 months postpartum. Mothers who delivered via cesarean section (planned or unplanned) reported stronger parent-infant-bonding at 8 weeks and 14 months postpartum. In fathers, only unplanned cesarean section was associated with stronger parent-infant-bonding at 8 weeks postpartum. At 8 weeks postpartum, birth experience mediated the association between a vaginal delivery induced by drugs and a planned cesarean section and mother-infant-bonding and between a vaginal delivery induced by drugs, an operative vaginal delivery, and planned cesarean section and father-infant-bonding. At 14 months postpartum, birth experience mediated the association between a vaginal delivery induced by drugs, operative vaginal delivery, and planned cesarean section and parent-infant-bonding in both parents. Conclusions The results emphasize the importance of the birth experience for parent-infant-bonding in both mothers and fathers. Further research should address the mechanisms by which parents with an unplanned cesarean section establish stronger parent-infant-bonding compared to parents whose baby was delivered via spontaneous vaginal delivery, despite their overall more negative birth experiences

Psychosocial work stress and parent-child bonding during the COVID-19 pandemic: clarifying the role of parental symptoms of depression and aggressiveness

Abstract Background Parental work stress and impaired mental health seem to have intensified during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Both can have a negative impact on parent-child bonding: psychosocial work stress in the course of a spillover effect from work to family and symptoms of impaired mental health as part of a crossover effect from parent to child. This potentially affects the child’s development in the long term. Method This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between psychosocial work stress and parent-child bonding during the early COVID-19 pandemic (May–June 2020). Symptoms of depression and aggressiveness were considered as mediators of this relationship. The sample consisted of employees in Eastern Germany (n = 380; 42.9% mothers, 57.1% fathers), aged 24–55 years, with children aged 0–36 months. Results In the total sample, an association was only found after adjusting for potential confounders, indicating that higher psychosocial work stress is associated with weaker bonding between the parent and child (β = 0.148, p = .017, 95% CI [0.566, 5.614]). The separate analyses for mothers and fathers did not reveal a statistically significant relationship between psychosocial work stress and parent-child bonding. In the total sample, the higher the psychosocial work stress was, the higher were the parental symptoms of depression (β = 0.372, p < .001, 95% CI [3.417, 5.696]) and aggressiveness β = 0.254, p < .001, 95% CI [1.008, 3.208]). The mental health symptoms in turn were related to weaker parent-child bonding (symptoms of depression β = 0.320, p < .001, 95% CI [0.345, 0.749]; symptoms of aggressiveness β = 0.394, p < .001, 95% CI [0.697, 1.287]). The results furthermore suggested that parental mental health symptoms mediate the association between psychosocial work stress and parent-child bonding (symptoms of depression, ab = 2.491, 95% CI [1.472, 3.577] and of aggressiveness, ab = 2.091, 95% CI [1.147, 3.279]). The mediation effect was also found in the separate analyses for the mothers and fathers. Discussion The results of this study during the early COVID-19 pandemic in Germany highlight the importance of prevention as well as intervention measures in relation to psychosocial work stress that may play a debilitating role in the context of family relationships. In addition, the results suggest that both employers and employees should be made aware of the importance of psychosocial work stress, as it can have a negative impact on mental health, which in turn may have a major influence on family relationships

Reflections on a successful year of the Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology

From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: epub 2023-12-13, issued 2023-12-13, published 2023-12-13Publication status: Publishe