Mode of delivery and short-term maternal mental health: A follow-up study in the Danish National Birth Cohort.

Int J Gynaecol Obstet

Research Unit for Gynecology and Obstetrics, Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.

Published: November 2022

Objective: To estimate associations between mode of delivery and maternal mental health 6 months postpartum.

Methods: Follow-up of mothers in the Danish National Birth Cohort. Symptoms of anxiety, depression or stress were self-reported at gestational week 30 and 6 months postpartum. Mode of delivery was categorized as spontaneous vaginal birth, instrumental vaginal birth, planned cesarean section and emergency cesarean section. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were used to compute differences and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between delivery mode and mental health indicators adjusted for mental health before and during pregnancy.

Results: Among 54 474 mothers, mental health indicators improved from pregnancy to 6 months postpartum for all delivery modes. Improvement was smallest in mothers with emergency cesarean section. Thus, compared to women with a spontaneous vaginal birth, women with emergency cesarean section more frequently reported symptoms of anxiety (OR 1.11; 0.98-1.24), depression (OR 1.25; 1.09-1.43) and stress (OR 1.14; 1.01-1.29) 6 months postpartum, and women with planned cesarean section more frequently reported symptoms of anxiety (OR 1.15; 1.01-1.29).

Conclusion: Mental health improved from pregnancy to 6 months postpartum regardless of delivery mode. Mothers with emergency cesarean section experienced more symptoms of emotional distress 6 months postpartum.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.14155DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

mental health
24
6 months postpartum
20
emergency cesarean
16
mode delivery
12
symptoms anxiety
12
vaginal birth
12
maternal mental
8
danish national
8
national birth
8
birth cohort
8

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!