Pre-natal testing, excessive parenting and care ethics

This article explores the current parenting culture, particularly the promotion of competitive and excessive parenting, as an important background issue against which the debates around pre-natal testing take place. It offers an alternative vision of parenting, relying on care ethics, which sees parenting as a relationship, rather than a job. A relationship that should change a parent's understanding of what is valuable in life. Parenting should not be about moulding the 'perfect child' but being open to being profoundly changed. The parent-child with a disability relationship offers particular opportunities to find new meanings and values in life. This analysis is offered as another dimension to the debates over pre-natal testing. It is not intended as an argument against such testing, but rather raises concerns about some of the broader attitudes around it.

[Risks and opportunities of reproduction with HIV]

As the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has become a chronic disease, the question of becoming a parent arises for HIV-positive people. There are several answers to this question, depending on the situation. Here is an overview of the risks and possibilities of procreation with HIV.

Effect of Marriage on Burnout among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout symptoms have been prevalent among healthcare workers. Living with spouses can be complex and was associated with an increased burnout risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated the relationship between living with spouses and burnout among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We distributed questionnaires to participants working in a hospital affiliated with a medical university in Taiwan. The questionnaires were the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, which comprises personal burnout (PB), work-related burnout (WB), and client burnout subscales; the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire; and information on basic demographic variables, family factors, living habits, work-related factors, and physical health factors. Multiple linear regression and mediation analysis were used. We obtained 1615 (63.81%) valid questionnaires. After analysis revealed that marriage was an independent risk factor for PB; however, the effect of marriage on WB was nonsignificant after controlling for risk factors. Parenthood, less alcohol use, reported sleep duration less than six hours, less overtime, less shift work, and participation in leisure activities with family and friends were found to be mediators between marriage and a lower WB level. In addition, chronic diseases, frequent neck pain, and shoulder pain were suppression factors. In summary, marriage was associated with an increased risk of PB. Married individuals sustain a high WB level because of changes in family roles, living conditions, and work conditions. Overall, helping healthcare workers to maintain well-being in marriage or family living may be effective in decreasing burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring the psychosocial challenges faced by pregnant teenagers in Ditsobotla subdistrict

Background

Pregnant teenagers usually experience psychosocial challenges such as a great amount of stress when they have to deal with an unwanted pregnancy, unpreparedness for parenthood and a lack of income as well as labour and birth complications. These are further complicated by the stigma from their families, friends and community. Unaddressed psychosocial challenges during teenage pregnancy can adversely affect the health outcomes of both mother and the child.

Aim

This study explores and describes the psychosocial challenges faced by pregnant teenagers in the Ditsobotla subdistrict.

Setting

The study was conducted in three health centres in the Ditsobotla subdistrict.

Methods

A qualitative-exploratory-descriptive and contextual research design was used. Non-probability purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used to select the participants. Semistructured individual interviews through WhatsApp video calls were used to collect data, which were analysed using conventional content analysis.

Results

Three themes emerged from the findings of the study, namely psychological challenges, social challenges and suggestions to address psychosocial challenges faced by pregnant teenagers.

Conclusion

The findings established that pregnant teenagers in the Ditsobotla subdistrict are faced with psychosocial challenges which negatively impact their psychological health and social life. Suggestions made in this study have the potential to improve the psychosocial well-being of pregnant teenagers in the Ditsobotla subdistrict if implemented.

Contributions

The findings of this study provide important information that may be used to improve the psychosocial well-being of pregnant teenagers in the Ditsobotla subdistrict.

The role of motherhood schemas and life transitions in reproductive intention formation

OBJECTIVE

This study provides a theory-based snapshot of the processes involved in women's fertility intention formation and decisions regarding the timing of motherhood.

BACKGROUND

The trend to defer childbearing is linked with both empowering and challenging outcomes for women. The cognitive-social (C-S) model suggests that deliberative thinking regarding reproduction occurs following fertility-relevant life transitions, which results in fluctuations in motherhood schemas and fertility intentions. This framework was applied to explore fertility intention formation.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve women who either had children or desired children.

RESULTS

Two overarching themes central to the C-S model are discussed: (a) passive expectations and (b) deliberative intentions. Women's motherhood schemas were often underpinned by schematic structures (e.g. group norms and scripts) and material structures (e.g. observational influences). Life transitions and personal experiences tended to prompt deliberative thinking about motherhood plans.

CONCLUSION

The results were generally consistent with the C-S model, but highlight complexities to consider when investigating fertility expectations and intentions.

Pregnancy During Surgical Training: Are Residency Programs Truly Supporting Their Trainees?

OBJECTIVE

Despite recent national improvements in family leave policies, there has been little focus on program-level support for surgical trainees. Trainees who may require clinical duty adjustments during pregnancy, who experience pregnancy loss, or who struggle with balancing work obligations with the demands of a new infant may face stigma when seeking schedule accommodations. The aim of this study was to describe program and colleague support of surgical trainees for pregnancy-related and postpartum health needs.

DESIGN

Survey questionnaire. Participants responded to multiple-choice questions about their history of pregnancy loss, their experience with reduction of clinical duties during pregnancy, and their breastfeeding experience. Those who took time off after miscarriages or reduced their clinical duties during pregnancy were asked whether they perceived their colleagues and/or program leadership to be supportive using a 4-point Likert scale (1-strongly agree, 4-strongly disagree) which was dichotomized to agree/disagree.

SETTING

Electronically distributed through social media and surgical societies from November 2020 to January 2021.

PARTICIPANTS

Female surgical residents and fellows.

RESULTS

258 female surgical residents and fellows were included. Median age was 32 (IQR 30-35) years and 76.74% were white. Of the 52 respondents (20.2%) who reported a miscarriage, 38 (73.1%) took no time off after pregnancy loss, including 5 of 10 women (50%) whose loss occurred after 10 weeks' gestation. Of the 14 residents who took time off after a miscarriage, 4 (28.6%) disagreed their colleagues and/or leadership were supportive of time away from work. Among trainees who reported at least 1 live birth, only 18/114 (15.8%) reduced their work schedule during pregnancy. Of these, 11 (61.1%) described stigma and resentment from colleagues and 14 (77.8%) reported feeling guilty about burdening their colleagues. 100% of respondents reported a desire to breastfeed their infants, but nearly half (46.0%) were unable to reach their breastfeeding goals. 46 (80.7%) cited a lack of time to express breastmilk and 23 (40.4%) cited inadequate lactation facilities as barriers to achieving their breastfeeding goals.

CONCLUSIONS

A minority of female trainees takes time off or reduces their clinical duties for pregnancy or postpartum health needs. National parental leave policies are insufficient without complementary program-level strategies that support schedule adjustments for pregnant trainees without engendering a sense of resentment or guilt for doing so. Surgical program leaders should initiate open dialogue, proactively offer clinical duty reductions, and ensure time and space for lactation needs to safeguard maternal-fetal health and improve the working environment for pregnant residents.

Experimental and cross-cultural evidence that parenthood and parental care motives increase social conservatism

Differences in attitudes on social issues such as abortion, immigration and sex are hugely divisive, and understanding their origins is among the most important tasks facing human behavioural sciences. Despite the clear psychological importance of parenthood and the motivation to provide care for children, researchers have only recently begun investigating their influence on social and political attitudes. Because socially conservative values ostensibly prioritize safety, stability and family values, we hypothesized that being more invested in parental care might make socially conservative policies more appealing. Studies 1 (preregistered; n = 376) and 2 (n = 1924) find novel evidence of conditional experimental effects of a parenthood prime, such that people who engaged strongly with a childcare manipulation showed an increase in social conservatism. Studies 3 (n = 2610, novel data from 10 countries) and 4 (n = 426 444, World Values Survey data) find evidence that both parenthood and parental care motivation are associated with increased social conservatism around the globe. Further, most of the positive association globally between age and social conservatism is accounted for by parenthood. These findings support the hypothesis that parenthood and parental care motivation increase social conservatism.

Associations of Work-Family Conflict with Family-Specific, Work-Specific, and Well-Being-Related Variables in a Sample of Polish and Ukrainian Adults during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

The conflict between work and family demands increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to changes in lifestyle related to the lockdown. This study examines the associations between work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict (FWC) with work-specific, family-specific, and well-being-related variables during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results may be used in practice to improve the well-being of employees by adjusting home-based work and family areas of life to dynamic changes during the pandemic. The sample of 736 adults from Poland (53.26%) and Ukraine (46.74%), aged between 19 and 72 (M = 39.40; SD = 10.80), participated in the study. The cross-sectional study was performed using an online survey, including sociodemographic variables, measures of WFC, time pressure, remote work assessment (RWAS), physical health (GSRH), life satisfaction (SWLS), perceived stress (PSS-10), anxiety (GAD-7), and depression (PHQ-9). This study showed numerous inter-group differences in all variables across the country, gender, relationship status, parenthood, caring for children under 12, and remote working status. A high WFC is more likely among Polish workers (than Ukrainian workers), people with a low level of self-perceived time pressure, and high symptoms of stress. Caring for children under 12, low self-perceived time pressure, and high stress can predict FWC. Various paths lead from perceived stress via WFC and FWC, physical health, anxiety, and depression to life satisfaction, as suggested by the structural equation modeling analysis. Parents of children under 12 and women are the most vulnerable groups for increased WFC, FWC, and worse mental health and well-being. Prevention programs should focus on reducing stress, anxiety, and work demands in these adult populations. A unique contribution to the existing knowledge revealed patterns of associations between WFC and FWC in relation to well-being dimensions in a cross-cultural context during the pandemic.

[Humanizing care in medically assisted reproduction]

Medically assisted reproduction is forty years old. Since the summer of 2021, care is no longer reserved for heterosexual couples only, but is extended to female couples and single women. This societal evolution, which has been debated at length, has highlighted the need to rethink the organization of care. Long stigmatized and trying, they have a strong impact on the life trajectories of patients, leaving traces that can have an impact on their parentality.

"Having a family is the new normal": Parenting in neoliberal academia during the COVID-19 pandemic

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has made explicit the burden of care shouldered by academic mothers, in addition to juggling their scholarly commitments. Although discussions are abundant on the impact of caring responsibilities on the careers of women academics, neoliberal academia continues to minimize such struggles. Despite the disruptions to family routines caused by the health crisis, academic institutions have expected academic mothers and fathers to continue undertaking their professional responsibilities at the same level as before, disregarding their parenting demands. This paper contributes to the research on parenthood in academia by looking at how, throughout the pandemic, academic parents have negotiated the tensions between parenthood and academic demands, and by investigating the strategies they use to confront neoliberal culture of academic performativity, even amid the health crisis. The paper engages with the "space invaders" concept used by Puwar (2004) to analyze the "hypervisibility" of academic mothers' and fathers' "bodies out of place" during the pandemic, and to investigate their "renegade acts" against the uncaring attitudes of their institutions. Evidence is drawn from a qualitative study conducted during December 2020 and January 2021 among scholars affiliated to Portuguese academic institutions: 17 in-depth interviews conducted with women, and two mixed-gender focus groups. Our results research reveal how the experiences of academic mothers and fathers were not uniform during the pandemic. In addition, it shows how, despite their commitment to their academic responsibilities, these parents have crafted various resistance strategies to confront the institutional pressure to continue maintain their working routines, and instead positioning themselves as "more than just academics."

Risk Attitudes in Late Adulthood: Do Parenthood Status and Family Size Matter?

How older persons react to high-stakes decisions concerning their finance and healthcare depends a great deal on their orientation towards risk-taking. This study examines the associations between parenthood status, family size, and risk attitudes in late adulthood based on nationally-representative data from the Singapore Life Panel. Multivariate analyses are employed to estimate how older adults' willingness to take risks in the general, financial, and health domains varies by gender and among childless individuals and parents of different family size. Older mothers are found to be less risk tolerant than their childless counterparts across the three risk domains. Conversely, mothers with more children demonstrate greater risk tolerance than mothers with fewer children. We find no evidence that older men's risk attitudes vary by parenthood status and family size. We discuss the implications of our findings for understanding individual and societal well-being in the context of rapid fertility decline and population aging.

Becoming and being a parent with an inherited predisposition to diffuse gastric cancer: A qualitative study of young adults with a CDH1 pathogenic variant

PURPOSE

This study explored the experiences of young people with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC), an inherited cancer predisposition syndrome, as they navigate becoming and being a parent.

DESIGN

We used interpretive description and conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 young Australians (18-39 years) with a CDH1 pathogenic variant (PV). Data were analyzed using team-based, reflexive thematic analysis.

FINDINGS

Participants' reproductive decisions centered on the perceived manageability of HDGC, namely via gastrectomy, and timing of their genetic testing. Participants yet to have children and those with challenging gastrectomy experiences favored using reproductive technologies to prevent passing on their PV. Parents who had children before genetic testing described complicated decisions about having more children. Gastrectomy was considered a parental responsibility but recovery diminished parenting abilities.

CONCLUSION

Young people with HDGC face unique challenges navigating reproductive decision-making and parenting with gastrectomy. Findings lend credence to calls for longitudinal, developmentally sensitive genetic counseling services.

Being a parent, emotional stability, and adjustment disorder symptoms in the face of COVID-19

Objective

The current study examines the correlation between emotional stability and symptoms related to adjustment to the stresses related to the pandemic for parents and nonparents at the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in Israel.

Background

At the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, governments prohibited public gatherings and demanded social distancing. These challenges may be especially difficult for individuals with low levels of emotional stability as adaptation difficulties may lead to stress-related outcomes, such as adjustment disorder symptoms. Additionally, in the face of a significant external threat and the demand for intensive joint familial time at home, the parental role becomes especially salient.

Methods

Two hundred forty-four Israeli adults filled in self-reported e-version questionnaires regarding emotional stability, adjustment disorder symptoms, and background variables. A cross-sectional design was used to examine the association between emotional stability and adjustment disorder symptoms, as well as the potential moderation by parenting status.

Results

The findings revealed that the levels of emotional stability were negatively correlated with adjustment disorder symptoms, while being a parent mitigated this correlation. This correlation was nonsignificant among parents.

Conclusion and Implications

It appears that the identity salience of parental role in the current stressful situation and its associated strain may have overcome the advantage of emotional stability. The identity of being a parent has the potential to dismiss it. Here, the social role emerges as more forcible than the personality trait. Recommendations for practice are discussed.

Work-Family Conflict and Family Role Performance Among Collegiate Athletic Trainers

CONTEXT

Work-life balance continues to be a focal point of athletic training research, particularly due to the job challenges and demands of healthcare providers. Despite a large body of literature, much is still unexplored, especially in the area of family role performance.

OBJECTIVE

Examine the relationship between work-family conflict (WFC), family role performance (FRP) and various demographic variables among athletic trainers employed in the collegiate setting.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional online survey.

SETTING

Collegiate setting.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

586 collegiate athletic trainers (females=374, males=210, gender variant/non-conforming=1, preferred not to answer=1).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

Data were collected through an online survey (Qualtrics) where participants responded to demographic questions and previously validated WFC and FRP scales. Demographic data were reported and analyzed for descriptives and frequencies. Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to identify differences among groups.

RESULTS

Participants mean scores were 28.19±6.01 and 45.86±11.55 for the FRP and WFC scales respectively. Mann Whitney-U tests revealed statistically different differences between men and women for WFC scores (U=344667, p=.021). Family role performance was moderately negatively correlated with WFC total score (rs[584] = -.497, p<.001) and predicted WFC scores (b=72.02, t582=-13.30, p=.001). Mann Whitney-U test demonstrated married athletic trainers (47.20±11.92) had statistically significantly higher WFC scores (U=19847.00, p=.003) than those who were not married (43.48±11.78). Mann Whitney U analysis (U=32096.00 p=.001) also found a significant difference between college athletic trainers with children (48.16±12.44) and those without children (44.68±10.90).

CONCLUSIONS

Collegiate athletic trainers experience more WFC with marriage and having children. These findings indicate that time required to raise a family and build relationships may cause WFC due to time incongruencies. Athletic trainers want to engage in their family roles, when this is limited WFC increases.

Polarized adult fertility patterns following early parental death

Death of a parent during childhood has become rare in developed countries but remains an important life course event that may have consequences for family formation. This paper describes the link between parental death before age 18 and fertility outcomes in adulthood. Using the large national 2011 French Family Survey (INSEE-INED), we focus on the 1946-66 birth cohorts, for whom we observe entire fertility histories. The sample includes 11,854 respondents who have lost at least one parent before age 18. We find a strong polarization of fertility behaviours among orphaned males, more pronounced for those coming from a disadvantaged background. More often childless, particularly when parental death occurred in adolescence, some seem to retreat from parenthood. But orphaned men and women who do become parents seem to embrace family life, by beginning childbearing earlier and having more children, especially when the deceased parent is of the same sex.

Examining Differences in Alcohol and Smoking Behaviors between Parenting and Nonparenting Lesbian Women

BACKGROUND

The transition to parenthood is a significant life event that has implications for health behaviors and health. Few studies have examined alcohol use and smoking by parenthood status (nonparent vs. parent) among women who identify as lesbian.

METHODS

This study used data from two longitudinal studies, the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women Study (n = 135) and the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (n = 116), to compare problem drinking and cigarette smoking trajectories among lesbian-identified women by parenthood status. We used mixed models to investigate differences in problem drinking and cigarette smoking in three waves of data in each study.

RESULTS

Lesbian parents reported significantly less problem drinking, but not cigarette smoking, than nonparent lesbian women. When considering the interaction between parental status and time, problem drinking was significantly higher among nonparents than parents at each time interval.

CONCLUSIONS

Parenthood was associated with positive changes in drinking among lesbian women; however, more research is needed to understand how to support smoking cessation among parenting lesbian women.

Parenting and caregiving duties as career challenges among clinical microbiologists: a cross-sectional survey

Aim: To estimate the burden of parenting and caregiving duties among clinical microbiologists in Germany and to identify workplace-related support systems and barriers to engaging in career-relevant activities. Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted. Participants were asked to answer 37 questions, of which 24 specifically addressed parenting and caregiving duties. Results: Only few workplace-related support systems are currently available, and experiences of job-related disadvantages were frequently reported (27 of 47; 57.4%). Main barriers were a lack of flexible working hours and reliable childcare. Sociocultural norms and a lack of role models were perceived as detrimental. Conclusion: More support systems and a credible culture of family friendliness are needed to prevent jeopardizing the academic potential of young parents.

Assisted reproduction technologies and reproductive justice in the production of parenthood and origin: Uses and meanings of the co-produced gestation and the surrogacy in Brazil

This article examines the construction of parenthood, drawing on Brazilian cisgender, heterosexual, and homosexual couples' experiences in using assisted reproduction technologies (ART), particularly the surrogacy. For that purpose, we interviewed: 1) a lesbian woman who had her daughter through her partner's pregnancy, using ART with anonymous donor semen; 2) a gay man who, together with his partner, used a surrogacy service under contract via a specialised offshore agency; 3) a woman who was a surrogate, in Brazil, for her sister-in-law and brother who lived abroad and, from abroad, sent an embryo fertilised for surrogacy; 4) a woman who resorted to her sister-in-law in order to be a mother by surrogacy, with ovules from the woman herself fertilised with semen from her husband; and 5) the sister-in-law mentioned in 4), who acted as surrogate for her brother and his wife. These interviews made it possible to think about the discursive construction of the legitimacy of such parenthoods, as it is produced by access to, and manipulation and circulation of, reproductive technologies and persons. This biomedical management of bodies sets up a material and discursive circuit that, in turn, produces a complex web of personal, normative, legal, professional and market relationships, particularly with a view to construction of a parenthood anchored in a notion of biologically-constituted origin. In this respect, biological, affective and social bonds merge to produce a precise placement of who is the father and/or who is the mother, as well as who are the important others and how they are linked to the child in a broader web of parenthood.

[The place of the family in pediatric oncology]

Pediatric oncology departments receive children with serious pathologies. Their family life is disrupted, hospitalizations are numerous and the prognosis is not always reassuring. The presence of the parents with the young patient is however essential to his recovery.

["The parent has become a true partner thanks to developmental care"]

Malika Jourdain has been a nursery nurse for nearly thirty years and works in neonatology at the children's hospital of La Tronche, in the Isère region. Her rich experience has enabled her to take part in some of the developments that have led to a better understanding of the role of parents with their premature newborn. In particular, the introduction of developmental care has led to upheavals in neonatal services. More than a change in practice, it has led to a paradigm shift.

[Child-family-caregiver collaboration, a factor in improving care]

Giving the parents of a child in need of care their rightful place is crucial. This creates a climate of trust that will guarantee the young patient a foundation of security and will promote optimal quality of care.

Personalized communication with parents of children born at less than 25 weeks: Moving from doctor-driven to parent-personalized discussions

Communication with parents is an essential component of neonatal care. For extremely preterm infants born at less than 25 weeks, this process is complicated by the substantial risk of mortality or major morbidity. For some babies with specific prognostic factors, the majority die. Although many of these deaths occur after admission to the intensive care unit, position statements have focused on communication during the prenatal consultation. This review takes a more comprehensive approach and covers personalized and parent-centered communication in the clinical setting during three distinct yet inter-related phases: the antenatal consultation, the neonatal intensive care hospitalization, and the dying process (when this happens). We advocate that a 'one-size-fits-all' communication model focused on standardizing information does not lead to partnerships. It is possible to standardize personalized approaches that recognize and adapt to parental heterogeneity. This can help clinicians and parents build effective partnerships of trust and affective support to engage in personalized decision-making. These practices begin with self-reflection on the part of the clinician and continue with practical frameworks and stepwise approaches supporting personalization and parent-centered communication.

The Holy Father (and Mother)? Multiple Tests of the Hypothesis That Parenthood and Parental Care Motivation Lead to Greater Religiosity

Parenting is a universal element of human life. However, the motivational and attitudinal implications of parenthood remain poorly understood. Given that many major religions prescribe parent-benefiting norms restricting sexual promiscuity and socially disruptive behavior, we hypothesized that both parenthood and parental care motivation would predict higher levels of religiosity. Studies 1 to 3 (N >2,100 U.S. MTurkers; two preregistered) revealed that parental status and motivation were robustly associated with religiosity in Americans, and that age-related increases in religiosity were mediated by parenthood. Study 4a (376 students) found a moderated experimental effect, such that emotionally engaged participants showed increases in religiosity in response to a childcare manipulation. Study 4b then replicated this effect in recoded data from Studies 1 and 2. Study 5 used data from the World Values Survey (N = 89,565) and found further evidence for a relationship between parenthood and religiosity. These findings support functional accounts of the relationship between parenthood and mainstream religiosity.

Pandemics and consumers' mental well-being

This article presents the immense impact that pandemics can have specifically on consumers' mental well-being, extending many of the well-being topics examined in this special issue on pandemics and consumer well-being. Avenues for future research in the area are suggested, with expanded discussion and future research suggestions related to four consumer characteristics including three areas associated with negative mental well-being (parenthood, suffering with chronic illness, aging, and family) as well as another characteristic associated with positive mental well-being (religion). The article concludes with a pressing call to action for academics and others to step up to the purpose in their careers and make a difference in the world for good in relation to consumers' mental well-being.

Born Under COVID-19 Pandemic Conditions: Infant Regulatory Problems and Maternal Mental Health at 7 Months Postpartum

Background

The SARS-COVID-19 pandemic and its associated disease control restrictions have in multiple ways affected families with young children, who may be especially vulnerable to mental health problems. Studies report an increase in perinatal parental distress as well as symptoms of anxiety or depression in children during the pandemic. Currently, little is known about the impact of the pandemic on infants and their development. Infant regulatory problems (RPs) have been identified as early indicators of child socio-emotional development, strongly associated with maternal mental health and the early parent–infant interaction. Our study investigates whether early parenthood under COVID-19 is associated with more maternal depressive symptoms and with a perception of their infants as having more RPs regarding crying/fussing, sleeping, or eating, compared to mothers assessed before the pandemic.

Methods

As part of a longitudinal study, 65 women who had given birth during the first nationwide disease control restrictions in Northern Germany, were surveyed at 7 months postpartum and compared to 97 women assessed before the pandemic. RPs and on maternal depressive symptoms were assessed by maternal report. Number of previous children, infant negative emotionality, and perceived social support were assessed as control variables.

Results

Compared to the control cohort, infants born during the COVID-19 pandemic and those of mothers with higher depressive symptoms were perceived as having more sleeping and crying, but not more eating problems. Regression-based analyses showed no additional moderating effect of parenthood under COVID-19 on the association of depressive symptoms with RPs. Infant negative emotionality was positively, and number of previous children was negatively associated with RPs.

Limitations

Due to the small sample size and cross-sectional assessment, the possibility for more complex multivariate analysis was limited. The use of parent-report questionnaires to assess infant RPs can support but not replace clinical diagnosis.

Conclusions

The pandemic conditions affecting everyday life may have a long-term influence on impaired infant self- and maternal co-regulation and on maternal mental health. This should be addressed in peripartum and pediatric care. Qualitative and longitudinal studies focusing on long-term parental and infant outcomes under ongoing pandemic conditions are encouraged.