Relation Between Perceived Stress, Social Support, and Coping Strategies and Maternal Well-Being: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

The objective of this work was to review published articles on the impact of perinatal stress on mothers' medium- or long-term psychological health and the efficacy of coping strategies, to determine if social support plays a role in the interaction between birth events and mothers' psychological experiences, and to identify the tools used for these measurements. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases were searched for English and French language articles from 2000 through 2010 inclusive. Thirty-seven articles fulfilled the selection criteria. The results of this review highlight an association between perceived stress and postpartum depressive symptoms. However, because perceived stress has been evaluated in a general manner, it was not possible to identify events having more or less relation to postpartum depressive symptoms in mothers. Social support also appeared to be related to mothers' psychological health. Coping strategies were difficult to analyze because of the lack of homogeneity in their definition across studies. The comparison among studies of social support and coping strategies was also difficult due to the diversity of tools used and their lack of specificity. New tools should be specifically developed for the perinatal period, and further research should be performed to understand better the events and adequacy of social support.

Improving Psychosocial Health, Coping, and Self-Efficacy in Parents of Sleep-Disturbed Young Children

“…The importance of social support has been confirmed by considerable research. Studies show that perceived social support [68] and partner support [69] are related to a decreased risk of postnatal depression in mothers. Long-term observations even demonstrate that perceived social support is a protective factor that prevents postnatal depression in mothers [70].…”

Postpartum depression in an Indian community: more prevalent less addressed issue

“…4 The causal role of lack of social support and other childcare stressors in postpartum depression is also strongly suggested by several other studies. [12][13][14][15] This study is a novel pilot study, especially when similar studies are lacking from this part of the country. This study is a small step in this direction and we earnestly believe that post-partum depression is acting as an important co-morbidity for both the lactating mothers and their infants.…”

Postpartum psycho-educational interviews to promote adaptation in new mothers: A preliminary study

“…[5] Stress can, however, have substantial repercussions for women's psychological health, such as their anxiety or risk of depression, particularly in the early postpartum period. [2,[21][22][23] It is therefore important to boost mothers' resources to deal with and decrease this stress. However, despite the fact that intervention in the early postnatal period has been documented as highly relevant, few studies have addressed this issue.…”