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. 2022 Feb 24;12(1):3128.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-07248-7.

Association between social support and postpartum depression

Hahyeon Cho  1 , Kyeongmin Lee  1 , Eunji Choi  1   2 , Ha Na Cho  1 , Boyoung Park  3 , Mina Suh  1   4 , Yumie Rhee  5 , Kui Son Choi  6   7
Affiliations

Association between social support and postpartum depression

Hahyeon Cho et al. Sci Rep. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Postpartum depression is common; however, little is known about its relationship to social support and postpartum depression. This study examined the association between them among South Korean women within one year of childbirth. This study was based on the 2016 Korean Study of Women's Health-Related Issues (K-Stori), a cross-sectional survey employing nationally-representative random sampling. Participants were 1,654 postpartum women within a year of giving birth. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were conducted to analyze the associations between social support (and other covariates) and postpartum depression. Among participants, 266 (16.1%) had postpartum depression. Depending on the level of social support, 6.0%, 53.9%, and 40.1% of them had low, moderate, and high social support, respectively. Women with moderate or low social support were more likely to have postpartum depression (OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.26-2.53; OR = 2.76, 95% CI = 1.56-4.89). This trend was observed in participants with multiparity, pregnancy loss, obese body image, and employed women. Social support was associated with a decreased likelihood of postpartum depression, indicating the importance of social support, especially for women experiencing multiparity, pregnancy loss, negative body image, as well as for employed women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The results of subgroup analysis based on postpartum depression according to social support by social support subscale.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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