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. 2023 Feb 1:3:921361.
doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2022.921361. eCollection 2022.

Developing an obstetric care screening tool to improve social support access for pregnant women: A prospective cohort study

Haruna Kawaguchi  1 , Ryoji Shinohara  2 , Yuka Akiyama  3 , Megumi Kushima  2 , Yoshio Matsuda  4 , Marie Yoneyama  5 , Tomomi Yamamoto  6 , Zentaro Yamagata  3
Affiliations

Developing an obstetric care screening tool to improve social support access for pregnant women: A prospective cohort study

Haruna Kawaguchi et al. Front Glob Womens Health. .

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to develop an efficient interview sheet during pregnancy and screening tool to identify pregnant women needing social support at obstetric institutions. Moreover, we investigate the perinatal factors associated with the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS).

Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted at three medical institutions that commonly encounter cases with social issues. Pregnant women were assessed using an interview sheet at the first visit (n = 678), at approximately 28 weeks gestation (n = 495), 36 weeks gestation (n = 296), and the postpartum period (n = 822). We investigated the important items identified on the new screening questionnaire (NEW interview sheets) for women needing social support. The items on the interview sheet were scored by multiple linear regression analysis, and the cutoff values were calculated using the receiver operating characteristic curve. The association between perinatal factors and EPDS was assessed using multiple logistic regression analyses.

Results: The study included 166 cases for which all NEW interview sheets for all periods were available. NEW interview sheets and stepwise screening tools during the first and second trimester were developed in which 2.5% of pregnant women were identified as requiring social support, respectively. The factors associated with EPDS ≧ 9 were "Women who felt confused/troubled or did not feel anything to be pregnant" (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 6.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.62-26.15), "Maternal mental disorder" (aOR 4.38; CI 1.06-18.10), "Consultation request at first visit" (aOR 3.22; CI 1.09-9.45), and "Women who have difficulty or anxiety about pregnancy during the second trimester" (aOR 3.14; CI 1.29-7.67).

Conclusions: We created the NEW interview sheets and screening tools during the first and the second trimester. Future studies are needed to validate these screening tools.

Keywords: child maltreatment; interview sheet during pregnancy; maternal mental health; pregnant women; screening tool; social support.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Support status change during pregnancy and the postpartum period. There were cases in which the support status changed during the gestational period. †Hospital support: socially high-risk pregnant women who were supported by their respective obstetric institutions. ‡Administrative cooperation: pregnant women in need of support to require collaboration with public health center.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The screening tool used at the first visit. Pregnant women with score of 22 points or more were selected as STEP-1. Then, pregnant women are narrowed down as STEP 2 and 3 according to the items on the interview sheet at first visit.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The screening tool used during the second trimester. Pregnant women with score of 14 points or more were selected as STEP-1. Then, pregnant women are narrowed down as STEP 2 and 3 according to the items on the interview sheet during the second trimester.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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