Table 2.
Prevalence of maternal mental health challenges and differences in maternal mental health characteristics among full-term compared to preterm mother-infant dyads.
| Total Sample (n=84) | Preterm Group (n=37) | Full-term Group (n=47) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean ± SD; or N (%) | *p value for univariate analysis | ** p value for multivariate analysis | |||
| Maternal Mental Health | |||||
| Depression (EPDS) | 6.39 ±3.92 | 7.08 ±4.23 | 5.85 ±3.61 | .21 | .17 |
| Postpartum Depression symptoms** | 17 (20%) | 11 (30%) | 6 (13%) | .055 | .02 |
| Stress (PSS) | 28.62 ±8.32 | 26.70 ±5.42 | 30.13 ±9.83 | .009 | .01 |
| State Anxiety (STAI 1) | 30.15 ±11.31 | 30.11 ±8.52 | 30.19 ±13.19 | .78 | .69 |
| Trait Anxiety (STAI 2) | 30.08 ±9.01 | 30.39 ±7.89 | 29.85 ±10.00 | .98 | 1.0 |
| Post-traumatic Stress (Modified PPQ) | 6.23 ±7.38 | 8.25 ±7.57 | 4.68 ±6.92 | .03 | .03 |
| PTSD symptoms*** | 6 (7%) | 3 (8%) | 3 (6%) | .50 | .90 |
| Psychological Distress**** | |||||
| Psychologically Distressed | 54 (64%) | 26 (70%) | 28 (60%) | .31 | .58 |
p-value is from investigations of differences in maternal mental health among full-term compared to preterm mother-infant dyads using independent samples t tests (for continuous variables) and chi-square analysis (for categorical variables). Bolded values indicate significance, p <.05.
p-value is from investigations of differences in maternal mental health among full-term compared to preterm mother-infant dyads using linear (for continuous variables) and logistic (for categorical variables) regression models, controlling for race, type of delivery, and siblings, p<.05. Note: type of delivery, race, and number of children were all related to each (p<.05) in chi-square analysis but all were included in the model. Analyses re-run controlling only for c-section and the findings remained largely unchanged.
Postpartum depression symptoms defined as having a score of >10 on the EPDS
PTSD symptoms defined as having a score of >19 on the Modified PPQ
Psychological distress was defined as scoring above the 75th percentile on the PSS, EPDS, STAI (state), or modified PPQ.
Abbreviations: EPDS: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; PSS: Parental Stress Scale; STAI: State and Trait Anxiety Scale; Modified PPQ: Modified Perinatal Post-traumatic Stress Questionnaire