Dyadic analyses on the prospective association between birth experience and parent-child-bonding: The role of postpartum depression, anxiety, and childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Objective: Negative birth experiences are associated with postpartum mental health difficulties in parents. However, research considering the long-term impact of a negative birth experience on parent-child-bonding and the interdependence between parents is rare. This study aimed to investigate actor as well as partner effects for the association between parents’ birth experience and parent-child-bonding and whether this association is mediated by postpartum psychiatric symptoms. Method: A community sample of couples (N = 743) completed questionnaires during pregnancy, 2, and 14 months after birth. Results: Applying Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Models, structural equation modeling showed that parents’ own negative birth experience predicted a poorer bond to their child 14 months postpartum. Compared to mothers, this association was twice as strong for partners and was mediated by symptoms of postpartum depression (mothers and partners), anxiety (partners), and childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (mothers). Negative birth experiences of one parent were not related to the other parent's bonding with the child. Conclusion: Results underline the importance of parents’ positive birth experience for their postpartum mental health and secure bond to their child. The other parent's birth experience or postpartum mental health does not seem to affect one's own bond to the child in the long term.
Details
Original language | English |
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Article number | 102748 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Journal of Anxiety Disorders |
Volume | 98(2023) |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2023 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 85166198887 |
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ORCID | /0000-0002-7472-674X/work/142257816 |
WOS | 001055746900001 |
Keywords
Research priority areas of TU Dresden
Sustainable Development Goals
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- Birth experience, DREAM study, Dyadic analysis, Parent-child-bonding, Postpartum