The influence of psychological factors on postpartum weight retention 12 months post-birth

Abstract

Background During the first postpartum year 20% of women retain excessive weight from pregnancy (postpartum weight retention; PPWR), which predicts long-term overweight/obesity. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the associations between psychological factors (depression, anxiety and stress symptoms and body attitudes) in late gestation and at 12-months postpartum with PPWR one-year post-birth. Methods Pregnant women (N = 176) completed questionnaires in early-mid pregnancy (Time 1; mean (SD) = 16.97 (1.35) weeks), late pregnancy (Time 2; mean (SD) = 33.33 (2.05) weeks), and one year postpartum (Time 3; mean (SD) = 53.12 (3.34) weeks). Women provided demographic characteristics, height and pre-pregnancy weight at Time 1. At Times 2 and 3, weight, depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms and body attitudes (salience of weight and shape, attractiveness, feeling fat, and strength and fitness) were assessed in addition to physiological, socio-contextual and lifestyle factors. Gestational weight gain and PPWR were calculated. Hierarchical linear regression models were conducted to explore variance in 12-month PPWR. Results Overall, models explained 26-39% variance in PPWR. Gestational weight gain in late pregnancy and low attractiveness at 12 months postpartum were the only variables associated significantly with 12-month PPWR. Conclusion While psychological factors did not appear to be important direct contributors to PPWR at 12 months, the overall contribution of all variables suggests that such factors may be implicated in a small and incremental way. Exploration of the interactions between variables will help unpack potential mechanisms of the development of PPWR at 12 months post-birth.

The relationship between depression, stress, anxiety, and postpartum weight retention

“…Out of 371 nonduplicate reviewed articles, 24 articles were selected[ 2 9 10 12 16 17 18 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 ] [ Figure 1 ]. The characteristics of the included studies are presented in Table 1 .…”

“…The mean PPWR was variable, ranged from 0.5 kg (standard deviation [SD] = 6.49)[ 16 ] at 12 months postpartum to 6.4 kg (SD = 8.5)[ 38 ] at the same time. There was considerable variation in the frequency of PPWR, which ranged from 83%[ 32 ] at 6 months postpartum to 24.1%[ 9 ] 1 year after delivery.…”

“…A total of 23 articles examined the relationship between depression and PPWR[ 2 9 10 12 16 17 18 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 36 37 38 39 40 ] [ Table 2 ]. A total of 50,917 participants were studied in these articles.…”

Phthalate exposure during pregnancy and long-term weight gain in women

“…Second, dramatic changes in metabolism occur during pregnancy, including increases in maternal fat stores and changes in insulin sensitivity that prepare the body for the increased energy demands of gestation and lactation (2). During the postpartum period, metabolism, hormone concentrations, and body weight typically return to pre-pregnancy levels, but approximately 20 percent of women retain excessive weight from pregnancy to one year post-delivery (40,41). Factors such as breastfeeding duration, diet, social support, sleep deprivation, and depression are thought to play a role in postpartum weight retention, but the effects of environmental exposures have not been explored.…”

The Use of Social Media for Preconception Information and Pregnancy Planning among Young Women

“…All related assumptions were met. The final sample size for this exploratory study ( n = 91) gave sufficient power based on an alpha level set at 0.05, a moderate effect size of 0.15 (based on similar exploratory studies with this population group) [ 29 ], and 80% power to identify an association between predictor variables and social media use (G*Power, version 3.1.9.6, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany). Furthermore, according to Green’s (1991) formula [ 30 ] of 50 + 8k, where k is the number of predictors, our sample size exceeded the minimum number required for four predictors ( n = 82).…”