Emotional distress in mothers of early-preterm infants, late-preterm infants, and full-term infants in Malawi.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
BACKGROUND: Mothers of preterm infants, early or late, report more distress than mothers of full-term infants. Malawi has the highest preterm birth rate in the world, but nothing is known about the relation of preterm birth to maternal mental health. PURPOSE: To compare emotional distress among mothers of early-preterm, late-preterm, and full-term infants. METHODS: We recruited 28 mothers of early-preterm, 29 mothers of late-preterm, and 28 mothers of full-term infants. Emotional distress was assessed 24-72 hr following birth. One-way ANOVA and regression analysis were used to compare the three groups. FINDINGS: Mothers of early-preterm infants reported more distress symptoms than mothers of full-term infants, and scores of mothers of late-preterm infants fell between the other two groups. Having a support person present was associated with lower symptoms and caesarean birth was associated with more symptoms. DISCUSSION: Promoting maternal mental health is important following preterm birth and health care providers need to support mothers.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Gondwe, KW; Brandon, D; Yang, Q; Malcom, WF; Small, MJ; Holditch-Davis, D
Published Date
- January 2020
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 68 / 1
Start / End Page
- 94 - 103
PubMed ID
- 31375345
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1528-3968
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1016/j.outlook.2019.05.013
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States