Correlates of Canadian mothers’ anger during the postpartum period: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Background Although some women experience anger as a mood problem after childbirth, postpartum anger has been neglected by researchers. Mothers’ and infants’ poor sleep quality during the postpartum period has been associated with mothers’ depressive symptoms; however, links between mothers’ sleep quality and postpartum anger are unclear. This study aimed to determine proportions of women with intense anger, depressive symptoms, and comorbid intense anger and depressive symptoms, and to examine mothers’ and infants’ sleep quality as correlates of postpartum anger. Methods This cross-sectional survey study was advertised as an examination of mothers’ and babies’ sleep. Women, with healthy infants between 6 and 12 months of age, were recruited using community venues. The survey contained validated measures of sleep quality for mothers and infants, and fatigue, social support, anger, depressive symptoms, and cognitions about infant sleep. Results 278 women participated in the study. Thirty-one percent of women (n = 85) reported intense anger (≥ 90th percentile on State Anger Scale) while 26% (n = 73) of mothers indicated probable depression (>12 on Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale). Over half of the participants rated their sleep as poor (n = 144, 51.8%). Using robust regression analysis, income (β = -0.11, p < 0.05), parity (β = 0.2, p < 0.01), depressive symptoms (β = 0.22, p < 0.01), and mothers’ sleep quality (β = 0.10, p < 0.05), and anger about infant sleep (β = 0.25, p < 0.01) were significant predictors of mothers’ anger. Conclusions Mothers’ sleep quality and anger about infant sleep are associated with their state anger. Clinicians can educate families about sleep pattern changes during the perinatal time frame and assess women’s mood and perceptions of their and their infants’ sleep quality in the first postpartum year. They can also offer evidence-based strategies for improving parent-infant sleep. Such health promotion initiatives could reduce mothers’ anger and support healthy sleep.

Maternal mental health: Women’s voices and data from across the globe

“…Various constructs have been assessed by study authors in relation to the topic of maternal mental health. These include commonly investigated experiences such as depression, anxiety, 'stress' [4] and 'distress' [5,6] as well as less commonly reported 'wellbeing' [7][8][9], 'emotional disorders' [10], symptoms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) [11][12][13], suicidal ideation [14], mood instability [15], anger [16] and intolerance of uncertainty [17]. These experiences have been differentiated with regard to the 'antenatal' and 'postnatal' time periods, or both [18].…”

“…A mental health related measure needs to be well developed and thoroughly validated, with clear definition and scope, to ensure clarity of findings, meaningful interpretation and reproducibility. This Collection includes large and small scale studies, cross-sectional studies [5,16,11], cohort studies [18,22] and studies validating new screening or measurement tools [8,13,17].…”

Seeing Red: A Grounded Theory Study of Women’s Anger after Childbirth

“…However, Ou et al (2022) found that, of a sample of women in the postpartum period who experienced intense anger, half experienced probable depression while half did not, suggesting that anger is a distinct mood problem that can be independent of depressive symptoms. Regression analysis indicated that income, number of children, depressive symptoms, maternal sleep quality, and maternal anger about infant sleep were significant predictors of intense maternal anger ( Ou et al, 2022 ). Empirical sources provide limited exploration of mothers’ characterization of anger.…”

“…For example, in a meta-ethnographic synthesis of PND in women migrating from low-income to higher income countries, anger was prominently represented as "I am worried, alone, and angry-this is not me" amongst four main themes including making sense of feelings, dealing with feelings, and actively changing how women felt about their situation (Schmied et al, 2011). However, Ou et al (2022) found that, of a sample of women in the postpartum period who experienced intense anger, half experienced probable depression while half did not, suggesting that anger is a distinct mood problem that can be independent of depressive symptoms. Regression analysis indicated that income, number of children, depressive symptoms, maternal sleep quality, and maternal anger about infant sleep were significant predictors of intense maternal anger (Ou et al, 2022).…”

Anger and aggression research: A bibliometric analysis from 2012 to 2022

“…[3] On the other hand, most adolescents have a moderate level of anger, and 41% of the adolescents express their anger by shouting and fighting. [4] Symptoms related to anger and aggression have been reported and include increased anger in premenstrual women, [5,6] postpartum women, [7] menopausal women, [8] and other psychiatric outpatients. [9][10][11] Anger and aggression are personality traits associated with suicide attempts, a major risk factor for suicide commission.…”