ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to identify the determinants and the vulnerability factors of women's mental health in the immediate postpartum period by investigating the first symptoms of anxiety, depression and peri-traumatic distress. METHODS: 256 women participated in this cross-sectional and descriptive study. They responded during their stay in the maternity ward to a set of questionnaires between the 1st and the 6th day after delivery. This included an anamnestic questionnaire as well as different scales that evaluated generalized self-efficacy feeling (GSES), marital adjustment (DAS), perceived sense of control during labor and delivery (LAS), birth experience (QEVA), anxiety manifestations (STAI-Y), depressive symptoms (EPDS) and peri-traumatic distress (PDI). RESULTS: Symptoms of anxiety, depression and peri-traumatic distress in the immediate postpartum period, as indicators of women's mental health, are predicted by different determinants. An anxious personality and perceived complications during childbirth for the woman or baby have been shown to be significant predictors of postpartum anxiety. Symptoms of depression are related to a history of depression, a low overall sense of general efficacy and lower satisfaction in the marital relationship. Peri-traumatic distress is related to certain dimensions of the childbirth experience, such as perceived sense of control, perceived complications and emotions felt during birth. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms of depression, anxiety and peritraumatic distress are linked to aspects of the prenatal period, but also to the experience of childbirth. More specific prevention, screening and care measures, depending on the woman's symptomatology, can be implemented during pregnancy or at the maternity. Further research seems essential to better understand the interactions between the prenatal period, childbirth and postpartum in explaining women's mental health in the immediate postpartum period.
