Infant sex, family support and postpartum depression in a Chinese cohort

• Published in: Journal of epidemiology and community health (1979) 2011-08, Vol.65 (8), p.722-726
• Main Authors: Xie, R-H, Liao, S, Xie, H, Guo, Y, Walker, M, Wen, S W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; China; Chinese; Cohort Studies; Data Collection; Depression; Depression, Postpartum - psychology; Family members; Family Relations; family support; Female; Females; Gender roles; General aspects; Humans; Husbands; infant sex; Infant, Newborn; Infants; Male; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Mood disorders; Obstetrics; Parents; perinatal epidemiology; Postpartum depression; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Prospective Studies; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Reproduction; Research report; Sex Factors; sex inequalities; Social support; Studies; Womens health; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0143-005X; 1470-2738
• DOI: 10.1136/jech.2009.096651

ObjectivesTo assess the impact of prenatal and postnatal family support on the association between infant sex and postpartum depression (PPD).DesignProspective cohort study.SettingPregnant women seen at Hunan Maternal and Infant Hospital, the First Affiliated and the Third Affiliated Hospitals of the Central South University in Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China from February to September 2007.Participants534 Pregnant women who were consecutively recruited from the participating hospital during their prenatal visits at 30–32 weeks of gestation and who completed the 2 weeks postpartum survey, with no recorded major psychiatric disorders and obstetric and/or pregnancy complications.Main outcome measurePPD, which was defined as a score of 13 or higher of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.ResultsPostnatal family support scores were much lower in women who gave birth to a female infant, and the OR of PPD was 3.67 (95% CI 2.31 to 5.84) for them as compared to women who gave birth to a male infant. After adjusting by postnatal support from all family members, husband and parents, the ORs of PPD for women who gave birth to a female infant decreased to 2.06 (95% CI 1.20 to 3.53), 2.89 (95% CI 1.76 to 4.77) and 2.20 (95% CI 1.28 to 3.77), respectively.DiscussionIncreased risk of PPD in Chinese women who gave birth to a female infant can be explained to large extent by inadequate or poor postpartum support from family members, particularly husband and parents.