Social Support, Perceived Stress, Socio-Demographic Factors and Relationship Quality among Polish Mothers of Prematurely Born Children

Maternal health-related quality of life at 1 year after a preterm birth: role of socioeconomic status at birth

BACKGROUND

Maternal problems in the postpartum period may lead to suboptimal long-term health for women and could affect mother-child attachment. Social disadvantage is a risk factor for preterm birth, which carries its own burden of health issues and stress. The main aim of this study was to investigate the role for social factors in mothers' physical and emotional health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at 1 year after a preterm birth.

METHODS

EPIPAGE-2 is a French nationwide, prospective, population-based cohort of preterm children born before 35 weeks' gestation (N=3614 women). At birth, detailed data on the family's social status were collected. At 1 year after birth, mothers completed a mailed questionnaire to report information on their HRQoL, assessed by the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short Form. We used multivariate linear regression models to assess the association between social factors and maternal HRQoL.

RESULTS

At 1 year after childbirth, the emotional HRQoL of mothers of preterm children was worse than their physical HRQoL, even in women without any previous signs of psychological distress at the infant's discharge from hospital. Baseline social characteristics were the most important factors influencing the physical component of HRQoL. None of the studied social factors had any clear association with the mental component of HRQoL.

CONCLUSION

Our study underlines the importance of social disadvantage during pregnancy as risk factors for poor physical HRQoL at 1 year after a preterm birth.

Birth-related PTSD symptoms and related factors following preterm childbirth in Turkey

Objective: To examine factors associated with birth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among women who had preterm birth in their last pregnancy in Turkey.Methods: 304 women were asked to report sociodemographic factors, perinatal factors, birth-related factors, preterm birth/premature infant characteristics, and social support factors and PTSD symptoms. Data were collected using online surveys between November 2020 and February 2021. Hierarchical multiple linear regression was used. Results: The prevalence of birth-related PTSD symptoms following preterm birth was 71.1%. Older age, the woman being positively affected by her own mother's birth experience, not having traumatic experience in pregnancy and in the postnatal period, lower stress level after traumatic events experienced during birth, not feeling that their life/physical integrity was at risk during birth, having amniotomy, feeling psychologically well after childbirth, not being negatively affected by witnessing other parents' happy moments with their babies in friend/family groups, the absence of infant illness and mother's reporting higher positive interactions with healthcare team were associated with decreased likelihood of birth-related PTSD. Except for age and traumatic event in the postnatal period, all the variables explained 43% of the variance with a small effect size (f 2  = 0.04). Stress level after the traumatic events experienced during labor was the strongest predictor of birth-related PTSD symptoms (β = 0.33). Conclusion: Wellbeing of mother and baby, facilitating interventions at labor, and positive communication with the healthcare team was associated with lower birth-related PTSD symptoms. The study findings highlighted on birth-related PTSD symptoms in mothers of preterm infants in Turkey.

Maternal adult attachment and maternal-fetal attachment in the context of romantic relationship quality after premature birth-A cross sectional study

Objective

The primary outcome of the study was to evaluate the maternal adult attachment and maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) in the context of romantic relationship quality among mothers of preterm born children. Associations between MFA, maternal adult attachment, maternal perceived stress, depressive symptoms, social support in the neonatal period were also examined as secondary outcomes.

Materials and methods

The study had a cross-sectional design and involved 260 of women after premature birth, who participated in the study in the early neonatal period. The following self-reported methods were used: Socio-demographic questionnaire, Attachment Styles Questionnaire (ASQ), Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS), The Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), The Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ).

Results

The results showed that a secure attachment style is associated with a higher intensity of the MFA and consequently, a higher quality of the romantic relationship. Regression analysis presented that the higher the secure attachment score, the lower the perceived level of stress and depressive symptoms, which in turn lead to a higher quality of the partner relationship.

Conclusion

Maternal secure attachment positively impacts the romantic relationship quality and the maternal-fetal attachment. The findings also draw attention to the role of the secure attachment style as a protective factor while coping with stress and depressive symptoms.

Resilience and Subjectively Experienced Stress Among Paramedics Prior to and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

INTRODUCTION

Paramedics play a vital role in the healthcare system by providing professional support in situations of direct threat to patient health and life. They experience numerous difficulties during their work, which result in occupational stress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their work has become even more demanding. The aim of the current study was to examine the role of resilience in the subjective experience of stress among paramedics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was carried out in two phases, in October-November 2019 (N = 75) and in May-June 2020 (N = 84), using the Sense of Stress Questionnaire (Skala Poczucia Stresu) and the Resilience Scale (Skala Pomiaru Prężności).

RESULTS

Paramedics exhibited higher intrapsychic stress before the COVID-19 pandemic. Tolerance of failure and treating life as a challenge were higher during the pandemic, in contrast to optimism and the ability to mobilize in difficult situations. Paramedics who were in contact with patients with COVID-19 experienced higher stress. Perseverance and determination, openness to new experiences and sense of humor, as well as competences and tolerance of negative emotions were revealed to play a key part in mitigating subjectively experienced stress.

CONCLUSION

Paramedics' subjectively experienced stress was lower during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paramedics who were in direct contact with patients with COVID-19 experienced higher stress. They had sufficient psychological resources, in the form of resilience (perseverance and determination, openness to new experiences, sense of humor, and competences and tolerance of negative emotions), which allowed them to cope with the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.