COVID-19 Mother’s Psychological Growth and Improved Mother-Child Bonds Caused by Childbirth During a Pandemic

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant disruption to many aspects of life, especially in health care.

The restrictions and safety measures introduced in response to the pandemic had a major impact on childbirth, with many mothers giving birth without the presence of family and friends and then being isolated from the baby.

Background

According to salutogenesis, unfavorable experiences can lead to personal prosperity. However, during the current pandemic, opposition has been reported, primarily for postpartum individuals.

Post-traumatic growth (PTG) is a term used to describe a person’s positive outlook for a very stressful event. In the pre-pandemic era, PTG was reported in the majority of postnatal women.

New research

In a recent study published in Affect Disorder JournalPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with childbirth was investigated in a cohort of women during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

The authors found out whether PTG is associated with acute stress during childbirth, whether PTG is associated with improved maternal-child binding and reduced post-traumatic stress symptoms, and when giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated whether this process would increase.

methodology

The authors conducted a study to assess the effect of COVID-19 on maternal well-being throughout the pandemic. Of the participants who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and provided data on acute stress in response to recent births, 2,205 gave birth after the onset of the pandemic and 544 participants gave birth before the pandemic. .. Participants in the entire sample were on average 31.98 years old and 2.23 months after birth.

Post-traumatic growth inventory expansion (PTGI-X) was used to measure the psychological growth of participants. This scale uses a scale from 0 to 5 to express the positive changes in relationships with others, new possibilities, inner strength, and life gratitude that has occurred due to certain stressful experiences. Evaluate.

The authors are Post-traumatic Growth Catalog-Expansion (PTGI-X), Post-traumatic Distress Catalog (PDI), Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms of Childbirth (CB-PTSD), and Maternal Affection Focus (MAI). ).

Survey results

34.1% of participants reported modest growth and 36.35% of participants reported more substantial growth, all due to childbirth. Participants were thanks for life (63.8%), personal strength (54.1%), relationships with others (48.1%), new possibilities (36.5%), mental and existential changes (24.2%). ) Was reported to be supported.

A multi-group mediation model identifies substantive changes in the mechanisms that link postpartum acute stress responses to CB-PTSD, mother-infant binding, and breastfeeding through elevated PTG in pre- and during-pandemic women. did. Specifically, childbirth-related acute stress was associated with elevated PTG only when giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, but not earlier.

The degree of CB-PTSD symptoms was associated with PTG, but only if it occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. PTG was associated with a stronger mother-child bond in both cases. Therefore, the model showed that the indirect pathway from childbirth-related acute stress to CB-PTSD and the PTG-mediated bond between mother and child was statistically significant only during the pandemic.

Implications

The PTG phenomenon broadens the paradigm of postnatal psychological adaptation of mothers and brings a new perspective to the study of childbirth outcomes. The results of this study show that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant proportion of postnatal women experienced psychological growth as a result of childbirth, especially in the form of greater appreciation for life and personal strength. It shows that.

These results show the relationship between good postpartum results and the mother’s perception of the positive psychological changes brought about by childbirth. For women who have been traumatized during childbirth, there may be significant benefits to the development of mother’s growth. After traumatic childbirth, interventions focused on the mother’s psychological development are recommended.