Perinatal Anxiety Symptoms: Rates and Risk Factors in Mexican Women.

Anxiety during pregnancy and after childbirth can have negative consequences for a woman and her baby. Despite growing interest in the perinatal mental health of Mexican women living in the U.S., perinatal anxiety symptom (PAS) rates and risk factors have yet to be established for women in Mexico. We sought to determine PAS rates and identify risk factors, including the traditional female role (TFR) in a sample of Mexican women. This secondary data analysis is based on 234 Mexican women who participated in a longitudinal study on perinatal depression in Mexico. Anxiety symptoms were assessed in pregnancy and at six weeks postpartum. Rates were determined through frequencies, and multiple logistics regressions were conducted to identify risk factors in the sample. The PAS rate was 21% in pregnancy and 18% postpartum. Stressful life events and depressive symptoms were associated with a higher probability of PAS. Adherence to TFR increased the probability of prenatal anxiety; lower educational attainment and low social support during pregnancy increased the probability of postpartum anxiety. The PAS rates were within the range reported in the literature. The TFR was only associated with anxiety in gestation, highlighting the role of this culturally relevant risk factor. Culturally responsive early interventions are therefore required.

Social Support and Postpartum Depression Revisited: The Traditional Female Role as Moderator among Mexican Women.

Women who lack social support tend to have a higher risk of postpartum depression. The present study examined the traditional female role, understood here as the adoption of passive and submissive traits specific to Mexican women, as another risk factor for postpartum depressive symptomatology that interacts with social support. Using two waves of data from a longitudinal study of 210 adult Mexican women (20-44 years-old, Mage = 29.50 years, SD = 6.34), we found that lacking social support during the third trimester of their pregnancy was associated with greater depressive symptoms at 6 months in the postpartum, although this relationship depended on the level of endorsement of the traditional female role during pregnancy. Lower social support during pregnancy predicted greater postpartum depressive symptoms for women with higher endorsement of the traditional female role, even when accounting for prenatal depressive symptoms. These results suggest that Mexican women's experience of social support may depend on their individual adherence to gender roles. Understanding the association between women's traditional roles and social support in the risk for postpartum depression can improve prevention and educational programs for women at risk.