Parenting stress, maternal depression and child mental health in a Melbourne cohort before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Aim: This paper aims to examine the maternal and child mental health and parenting outcomes in the context of COVID-19 pandemic conditions using a sample from Melbourne, Australiaa city exposed to one of the longest lockdowns world-wide in response to the pandemic. Methods: This study utilises observational data from a prospective, pregnancy cohort, Mercy Pregnancy Emotional Wellbeing Study and includes 468 women and their children followed up in Melbourne to 3-4 years postpartum pre-COVID pandemic and compared to those followed up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: When compared to mothers followed up at 3-4 years postpartum pre-pandemic, those followed up during the COVID-19 pandemic showed higher depressive symptoms with a steep incline in their symptom trajectory (EMM difference = 1.72, Bonferroni-corrected P < 0.01, d = 0.35) and had a three times higher risk of scoring 13 or above on the EPDS (aRR = 3.22, Bonferroni-corrected P < 0.01). Although this increase was not associated with the variation in the duration of exposure to pandemic conditions, the steep increase in depressive symptoms was more pronounced in those with pre-existing depressive disorders. There was no difference in parenting stress or adjusted childhood mental health symptoms or disorder. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the vulnerability of those with pre-existing clinical mental health disorders and the need for adequate clinical care for this vulnerable group. Equally, our study indicates the possibility that parenting and early childhood mental health outcomes, at least in the short term, may be resilient.

Letters to the Editor

“…It is with great interest we read the article titled 'Parenting stress, maternal depression and child mental health in a Melbourne cohort before and during the COVID-19 pandemic' by Galbally et al 1 While the study has many strengths, including the robust measurement, the study was unable to report on mental health outcomes for those exposed to COVID-19 infection. A similar study was done in India, considering the mental health outcomes of health-care workers (HCW) exposed to the pandemic frontline.…”

“…The highest prevalence of MPOX in the current outbreak is found in the anogenital region among gay/bisexual male young adults with high-risk sexual behaviour. 1 MPOX in children and adolescents aged <18 years has been described infrequently, but a recent nationwide ecological study reported that approximately 5% of cases in Brazil were diagnosed in the paediatric population. 2 Here, we present a case series of children and adolescents with MPOX in Sergipe state, North-East Brazil, recognised as one of the poorest regions in the country.…”

Developmental and behavioural outcomes at 2 years in babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic: communication concerns in a pandemic birth cohort

“…Lockdown led to limited or no input from family especially grandparents 1. Additional childcare responsibilities, working from home and financial concerns added to parenting stressors,2 with reports of loneliness and isolation,1 and an increase in maternal depression 3. School-age children were not able to go to in-person classes and most preschool-age children were unable to attend early years care/education, with those in attendance demonstrating better outcomes in language and executive function 4.…”

The Short-Term Consequences of COVID-19 on Mental Health: State of the Art from Available Studies

“…The adoption of containment measures has contributed to the occurrence of several stress-related conditions [ 19 ] and the deterioration of pre-existing mental conditions [ 20 , 21 ]. The onset of the pandemic was especially stressful for some high-risk groups, such as people with previous severe mental disorders [ 22 , 23 ], migrants [ 24 , 25 , 26 ], people belonging to ethnic [ 27 , 28 ] or sexual minorities [ 29 , 30 , 31 ], healthcare professionals, adolescents [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ] and pregnant women [ 36 , 37 , 38 ].…”

“…As regards pregnant women, the unknown effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on pregnancy and the sudden modifications to prenatal care adopted in many countries to reduce viral transmission [ 37 , 54 , 55 ] represent additional stressful factors to be carefully taken into consideration. The extent to which pandemic-related stress and pregnancy-specific stress have affected mental health in childbearing women during the COVID-19 pandemic is largely unknown.…”