Association between Support and Maternal Stress at One Year Postpartum: Does Type Matter?

“It's Hard Being a Mama”: Validation of the Maternal Distress Concept in Becoming a Mother

“…Single, low-income mothers who report lower social support and have a poor relationship with their partners and are at higher risk of decreased emotional well-being (McLeish & Redshaw, 2017); however, Castle et al (2008) found that first-time mothers who reported higher emotional expression, meaning individuals can effectively signal their needs, reported significantly higher social support. Formal and informal networks are considered primary sources of social support for first-time mothers and the woman's partner and mother are very important in the mother's informal network (Leahy-Warren, 2007;Sampson, Villarreal, & Padilla, 2015). In this study, some mothers had conflicts with their partners and mothers and felt very isolated due to geographical disconnects from their families.…”

“…In addition, there are many factors that affect the mother's perception of maternal distress in the postpartum period including the infant's crying and temperament (Kim, Capistrano, & Congleton, 2016;Loutzenhiser, McAuslan, & Sharpe, 2015;Pilkington, Whelan, Maternal distress in early parenting may not be due to ''depression,'' but rather to the mother's current social context and dramatic lifestyle changes that occur with becoming a new mother. & Milne, 2016;Russell & Lincoln, 2016;Staehelin, Kurth, Schindler, Schmid, & Zemp Stutz, 2013); health, recovery needs, and quality of life (Declercq, Sakala, Corry, Applebaum, & Herrlich, 2014;Emmanuel & Sun, 2013;McGovern et al, 2006;Suplee et al, 2014;Runquist, 2007); maternal attitudes (Castle, Slade, Carranco-Wadlow, & Rogers, 2008;Sockol, Epperson, & Barber, 2014); social support and partner support (Emmanuel, St John, & Sun, 2012;Fenwick et al, 2013;Glazier, Elgar, Goel, & Holzapfel, 2004;McClain, Villarreal, & Padilla, 2015;Nam, Wikoff, & Sherraden, 2015;Razurel, Kaiser, Sellenet, & Epiney, 2013;Stapleton et al, 2012); depression, anxiety, and stress (Clout & Brown, 2015;McFarlane, Burrell, Duggan, & Tandon, 2017;Sockol & Battle, 2015;Sockol et al, 2014); and mothers with prior mental health problems (Seimyr, Welles-Nystrom, & Nissen, 2013) or postpartum posttraumatic stress (Iles & Pote, 2015;Simpson & Catling, 2016). Further, the presence of maternal distress can compromise maternal infant interactions (Beebe et al, 2008;…”

Examining Ecological Constraints on the Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment Via Individual Participant Data Meta‐analysis

“…Single parenthood is often described as more challenging than shared parenthood as a result of economic and time constraints that can undermine single parents’ capacity to attune to child cues and signals (Cyr et al., ). Moreover, studies have shown that partner support, especially emotional support, decreased parenting stress during the first year postpartum (Sampson, Villarreal, & Padilla, ) and that marital adjustment moderated the association between attachment representations and child attachment (Das Eiden, Teti, & Corns, ). High stress levels of single parents may, thus, compromise sensitive responding and transmission of parents’ autonomous attachment representation.…”

The relationship between breastfeeding attitudes and perceived stress levels of Turkish mothers

“…This period can lead to certain postnatal concerns such as postpartum weight gain, changes in body image, the baby's health and well‐being, interpersonal relationships and general baby care . As reported, along with all these changes, mother's mental health is at risk of chronic stress, anxiety and depression in the first year after birth .…”

“…Therefore, it is thought that stress perceived by the mother should be reduced to such a level as to affect her breastfeeding attitude positively. It was stated that by investigating the factors leading to stress in the postpartum period, it would be possible to take necessary precautions, which can improve maternal and child mental health . Therefore, this information is expected to provide guidance (references) for nurses working postnatal breastfeeding counselling and stress management services.…”