Psychiatric Symptoms in Women with High-risk Pregnancy in the Postpartum Period: A Case-control Study

Abstract

Objective: Psychiatric symptoms are common mental issues in pregnancy and the postpartum period. There is limited information regarding the psychiatric symptoms of women with high-risk pregnancy in the postpartum period. This study aimed to compare the severity of psychiatric symptoms and psychological distress in women with high-risk and low-risk pregnancies in the postpartum period.

Methods: This case-control study examined 250 women in the postpartum period in two groups with low-risk (n = 112) and high-risk (n = 138) pregnancies. Women completed the Brief Symptom Inventory-53 (BSI-53) and the Risk Postnatal Psychosocial Depression Risk Questionnaire (PPDRQ).

Results: The mean severity of psychiatric symptoms in women with high-risk pregnancies was significantly higher than that in women with low-risk pregnancies (39.34 ± 17.51 vs. 30.26 ± 17.08). Additionally, the frequency of psychological distress in women with high-risk pregnancies was approximately twice higher than that in women with low-risk pregnancies (30.3% vs. 15.2%). Furthermore, the risk factors for depression in women with high-risk pregnancies were almost 1.5 times (59.8% vs. 39.8%) higher than the factors in women with low-risk pregnancies. The results of the logistic analysis indicated that high-risk pregnancies could be twice the odds ratio of developing postpartum psychological distress (ß = 2.14, 95% CI 1.4-6.3, p= 0.036).

Conclusion: Psychiatric symptoms and the psychological distress index are higher in postpartum women with high-risk pregnancies than in postpartum women with low-risk pregnancies. The study suggests that obstetricians and pregnant women's health care providers should strongly consider screening of psychiatric symptoms in women with high-risk pregnancies both during pregnancy and after delivery as the women's routine care priorities.

Keywords

Psychological disorders - High-risk pregnancy - Postpartum - Psychological distress

Contributions

ZB, FR, MF designed and conducted the project. MK conducted review literature. MS analyzed the data. MF wrote the primary draft of the paper. ZB reviewed the paper. FR collected the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 08. November 2022

Angenommen: 10. Januar 2023

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
24. Mai 2023

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