Prevalence of perinatal depression among Japanese men: a meta-analysis

Inverse Association Between Mothers' Cognitive Social Capital During Pregnancy and Postpartum Depression: The Japan Environment and Children's Study

Purpose

Several studies have reported an apparent inverse association between cognitive social capital and depression in various groups, but insights into this association in perinatal mothers are fairly limited. Therefore, we explored the possible associations between expectant mothers' cognitive social capital (ie, neighborhood trust and reciprocity and generalized trust and reciprocity) and postpartum depression at 1 and 6 months after delivery.

Patients and Methods

As part of an ongoing cohort study, the Japan Environment and Children's Study, cognitive social capital was evaluated using a questionnaire survey during mid-late pregnancy and postpartum depression was assessed using the Japanese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. This study analyzed data from 81,670 mothers. Logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) for postpartum depression by the degree of neighborhood and generalized trust and reciprocity (high, relatively high, neutral, relatively low, and low) using the high category as a reference.

Results

Regardless of the measurement time point, prevalence gradually increased as the degree of neighborhood trust decreased (all p < 0.001), suggesting a higher likelihood of postpartum depression with less neighborhood trust. A comparable tendency was also observed for the other three variables of cognitive social capital (all p < 0.001). Moreover, the inverse association of postpartum depression with generalized trust and reciprocity was markedly stronger (ORs for low category ≥ 2.70) than that with neighborhood trust and reciprocity (ORs for low category ≤ 1.96).

Conclusion

Our findings highlight a statistically significant inverse association between cognitive social capital during pregnancy and postpartum depression at both time points.

Changes, differences, and factors of parenthood in high-risk pregnant women and their partners in Japan

Background

Various stressors exists for pregnant women worldwide, especially negative social and environmental influences that can increase the number of high-risk pregnant women. These may cause a difficult transition to parenthood for women and their partners. However, limited studies have focused on and examined parenthood. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the changes in parenthood from pregnancy to post-discharge after childbirth among high-risk pregnant women and their partners, as well as the presence or absence of gender differences and the factors associated with parenthood.

Methods

This longitudinal quantitative study used a self-administered anonymous questionnaire distributed among 127 pregnant women and their partners who visited a high-risk pregnant outpatient clinic. The Scale of Early Childrearing Parenthood (SECP; three subareas, 33 items) was administered thrice: during pregnancy (T1), after childbirth (T2), and after discharge (T3).

Results

The analysis included 85 T1 (37 fathers and 48 mothers), 36 T2 (13 fathers and 23 mothers), and 31 T3 (11 fathers and 20 mothers) responses. There was a significant increase in the SECP scores for both parents from T1 to T3. Mothers had a greater increase in the SECP scores from T1 to T2 than fathers. In addition, fathers’ mean SECP scores at T1 and T2 were higher compared with those of the mothers. Mothers’ and fathers’ SECP scores at each time point showed no significant differences.

At all time points, the SECP scores were commonly and significantly associated with infertility treatment, physical and mental condition, postpartum depression at T2, and parenting stress at T3.

Conclusions

Because parenthood in the infertility treatment group was significantly higher throughout the series, we need to support such couples so that childbirth does not become their main goal. We suggest interventions for factors that impede parenthood development, understand the various backgrounds of the parents, and support the couple individually while also considering them as a unit.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-023-05519-3.

Factors influencing postpartum depression among Japanese parents: A prospective longitudinal study

AIM

Postpartum depression (PPD) may have negative effects on the parents and lead to impaired cognitive, socioemotional, and behavioral development in their children. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with PPD in parents during the first year after delivery.

METHODS

This study used a self-administered questionnaire. Questionnaires were mailed at 5 days, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after delivery, respectively. The particpants were 107 pairs of mothers and fathers. PPD was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Data on sense of coherence (SOC), Quality Marriage Index, Social Support Scale, Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale, and sociodemographic variables were collected. Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the strength of the association between several variables and the EPDS at each survey period for fathers and mothers, respectively.

RESULTS

The prevalence of PPD in the first-year postpartum ranged from 12.1%-23.4% to 7.5%-8.4% for fathers and mothers, respectively. SOC had the strongest impact on EPDS scores for both fathers and mothers at all four survey periods.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that stress coping skills are an important factor affecting PPD throughout the first-year postpartum for both fathers and mothers.

Preventive interventions for paternal perinatal depression: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this scoping review is to map the literature describing preventive interventions for paternal perinatal depression. Depression is a common mental disorder experienced by fathers as well as mothers around childbirth. Perinatal depression has negative consequences for men, and suicide is the most serious adverse effect. Impaired father-child relationships can also result from perinatal depression, negatively impacting child health and development. Considering its severe effects, early prevention of perinatal depression is important. However, little is known about preventive interventions for paternal perinatal depression including Asian populations.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This scoping review will consider studies of preventive interventions for perinatal depression in men with a pregnant wife or partner, and new fathers (less than 1 year post partum). Preventive intervention includes any form of intervention intended to prevent perinatal depression. Primary prevention intended to promote mental health will also be included if depression is included as an outcome. Interventions for those with a formal diagnosis of depression will be excluded. MEDLINE (EBSCOhost), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), APA PsycINFO (EBSCOhost), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Ichushi-Web (Japan's medical literature database) will be searched for published studies, and Google Scholar and ProQuest Health and Medical Collection will be searched for grey literature. Beginning in 2012, the search will include the last 10 years of research. Screening and data extraction will be performed by two independent reviewers. Data will be extracted using a standardised data extraction tool and presented in diagrammatic or tabular form, accompanied by a narrative summary.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

As this study involves no human participants, approval from a human research ethics committee is not required. Findings of the scoping review will be disseminated through conference presentations and publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

https://osf.io/fk2qe/.

Development and Psychometric Testing of the Mental Health Scale for Childrearing Fathers

The mental health of fathers influences the development of children and the functioning of families significantly. However, there is no useful scale for the mental health screening of childrearing fathers. This study developed a Mental Health Scale for Childrearing Fathers (MSCF) and determined its reliability and validity. Childrearing fathers are working fathers who co-parent with their spouses. This survey was conducted in two stages: a pilot study and a main survey. Data were obtained from 98 fathers raising preschoolers in the pilot study and 306 fathers in the main survey. The collected data were used to confirm the construct validity, criterion-related validity, convergent validity, and internal consistency reliability. The final MSCF consisted of 25 items comprising four factors: peaceful familial connection, healthy mind and body, satisfying paternal alliances, and leading a meaningful life as a parent. The internal consistency reliability estimated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.918. The validity of the MSCF was logically secured using a confirmatory factor analysis. The MSCF can be an effective tool for mental health screening among fathers in relation to the burden of childrearing during regular infant health checks.