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Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Learning Objective 1: 1. The learner will be able to understand health condition of postpartum single mothers.
Learning Objective 2: 2. The learner will be able to understand possible factors of postpartum depression and birth outcomes of single mothers.
Purpose:
To explore factors related to postpartum depression and birth outcomes of single mothers.
Methods:
The analysis used a national survey (Early Childhood Longitudinal Studied-Birth) on children and parents at 9 months postpartum. Only data of mothers who lived alone with their children were analyzed. The 12-item CESD was used to measure depression. Of 445 mothers, 77.3% had equal or lower than high school education, 53.5% Black, 54.0% primiparous, 53.5% unemployed, and 57.8% below poverty level. Their mean age was 23.23 years and 27% were younger than 20. Only 19.6% of the pregnancy was planned. Mean baby birthweight was 2858.21 grams, 26.2% were low birthweight, and 26.6% were premature.
Results:
Only 59.1% of mothers received adequate prenatal care. The majority took only safe drugs, did not drink or smoke, but did not take vitamins. 56.4% of mothers experienced postnatal depression, 57.5% rated health as very good/excellent. Of those who were depressed, 82.9% did not seek professional help for emotional problems. Most mothers had fewer than 3 resources. If needed, help were mostly from parents or friends. The majority of mothers (84%) kept good relationship with baby's biological father but 64.9% of those fathers never paid for childcare expenses. Birthweight and gestational age did not differ by race, age group, poverty level, or intention to pregnancy. Babies of mothers with education of or above high school were significantly heavier. Those who were seeking jobs and worked less than 35 hours/week had highest and lowest level of depression.
Conclusion:
Arrange and encourage single mothers to seek higher education and employment may help with better pregnancy outcomes and lower depression. Professional help and other resources such as childcare services that are accessible to mothers are needed. Future research focusing on prenatal risk factors for adverse birth outcomes and health is warranted.