The Role of Maternal Perceived Social Support on the Relation Between Prenatal Depressive Symptoms and Labor Experience

Background: Depression during pregnancy is a severe risk factor for negative outcomes in women and children. In particular, prenatal symptoms of depression are linked to a more complicated labor experience, characterized by more painful labor and more frequent recourse to epidural analgesia and/or o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of health psychology 2022-07, Vol.29 (3), p.156-162
Main Authors: Tani, Franca, Ghinassi, Simon, Ponti, Lucia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Female
Human
Labor (Childbirth)
Major Depression
Oxytocin
Parental Role
Pregnancy
Role Perception
Social Support
Symptoms
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Summary:Background: Depression during pregnancy is a severe risk factor for negative outcomes in women and children. In particular, prenatal symptoms of depression are linked to a more complicated labor experience, characterized by more painful labor and more frequent recourse to epidural analgesia and/or oxytocin. Although this link is evident, less is known about possible mediators of this relationship. Aims: This study investigated the mediating role of perceived maternal social support on the relationship between prenatal maternal depression and labor experience. Methods: Participants were 152 Italian nulliparous women (Mage = 31.68 years, SD = 4.94). Data were collected at two different times: T1 (at week 30-33 of gestation) women completed the Beck Depression Inventory and the Maternal Social Support Scale; T2 (at childbirth) clinical data regarding labor was registered from hospital records (duration of labor in hours and administration of oxytocin and epidural analgesia in hours). Results: The Structural Equation Modeling showed that prenatal symptoms of depression are linked to a more complicated labor experience (β = .31, p 
ISSN:2512-8442
2512-8450
DOI:10.1027/2512-8442/a000103