Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 5;21(1):487.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03432-7.

Postpartum depression and postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder: prevalence and associated factors

Ying Liu  1 , Lan Zhang  1 , Nafei Guo  1 , Hui Jiang  2
Affiliations

Postpartum depression and postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder: prevalence and associated factors

Ying Liu et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Despite the increased global interest from researchers in postpartum depression (PPD) and postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (PP-PTSD), studies of PPD in China have shown a wide range of variability. Indeed, the prevalence and risk factors for PP-PTSD have received little attention in China.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of PPD and PP-PTSD in China, and to examine the relationships between a range of sociodemographic, pregnancy-related, and newborn-related variables, and PPD and PP-PTSD.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 1136 women who returned to the obstetrics clinic for routine postpartum examination were enrolled. The sociodemographic, pregnancy-related, and newborn-related characteristics were collected. Social support, and PPD and PP-PTSD symptoms were measured by the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Perinatal Post-traumatic Stress Questionnaire (PPQ).

Results: The prevalence rates of PPD and PP-PTSD symptoms were 23.5 and 6.1%, respectively. A multivariate model showed that the presence of PP-PTSD was the strongest risk factor for PPD symptoms and vice versa. Other risk factors for PPD included low sleep quality, low social support and newborn's incubator admission. In terms of PP-PTSD symptoms, risk factors included the presence of PPD symptoms, non-Han ethnicity, and low social support, while having one child was a protective factor.

Conclusions: This study addressed some gaps in the literature and provided a better understanding of PPD and PP-PTSD in China, which may contribute to early detection and intervention. Attention should be paid to women who are most susceptible to PPD and/or PP-PTSD, including those with low social support, low sleep quality, newborn's incubator admission, non-Han ethnicity, and women with siblings.

Keywords: Childbirth; China; Mental health; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Postpartum depression; Postpartum period.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

References

    1. Dikmen-Yildiz P, Ayers S, Phillips L. Depression, anxiety, PTSD and comorbidity in perinatal women in Turkey: a longitudinal population-based study. Midwifery. 2017;55:29–37. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2017.09.001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dekel S, Ein-Dor T, Dishy GA, Mayopoulos PA. Beyond postpartum depression: posttraumatic stress-depressive response following childbirth. Archives of women's mental health. 2020;23(4):557-64. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Stewart DE, Vigod S. Postpartum depression. N Engl J Med. 2016;375(22):2177–2186. doi: 10.1056/NEJMcp1607649. - DOI - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5. Arlington: APA; 2013.
    1. The Lancet P Seeing the whole picture of postpartum depression. Lancet Psychiatry. 2019;6(7):547. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30226-3. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types