Continuity of midwifery carer moderates the effects of prenatal maternal stress on postnatal maternal wellbeing: the Queensland flood study

Kildea, S; Simcock, G; Liu, A; Elgbeili, G; Laplante, DP; Kahler, A; Austin, MP; Tracy, S; Kruske, S; Tracy, M; O’Hara, MW; King, S

Continuity of midwifery carer moderates the effects of prenatal maternal stress on postnatal maternal wellbeing: the Queensland flood study

Kildea, S

Simcock, G Liu, A Elgbeili, G Laplante, DP Kahler, A Austin, MP Tracy, S Kruske, S

Tracy, M O’Hara, MW King, S

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Archives of Women's Mental Health, 2018, 21 (2), pp. 203 - 214
Issue Date:: 2018-04-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Kildea, S https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8591-4968	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Simcock, G	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Liu, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Elgbeili, G	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Laplante, DP	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kahler, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Austin, MP	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Tracy, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kruske, S https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2317-3954	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Tracy, M	en_US
dc.contributor.author	O’Hara, MW	en_US
dc.contributor.author	King, S	en_US
dc.date.available	2017-09-19	en_US
dc.date.issued	2018-04-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Archives of Women's Mental Health, 2018, 21 (2), pp. 203 - 214	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1434-1816	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/129059
dc.description.abstract	© 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria. Poor postnatal mental health is a major public health issue, and risk factors include experiencing adverse life events during pregnancy. We assessed whether midwifery group practice, compared to standard hospital care, would protect women from the negative impact of a sudden-onset flood on postnatal depression and anxiety. Women either received midwifery group practice care in pregnancy, in which they were allocated a primary midwife who provided continuity of care, or they received standard hospital care provided by various on-call and rostered medical staff. Women were pregnant when a sudden-onset flood severely affected Queensland, Australia, in January 2011. Women completed questionnaires on their flood-related hardship (objective stress), emotional reactions (subjective stress), and cognitive appraisal of the impact of the flood. Self-report assessments of the women’s depression and anxiety were obtained during pregnancy, at 6 weeks and 6 months postnatally. Controlling for all main effects, regression analyses at 6 weeks postpartum showed a significant interaction between maternity care type and objective flood-related hardship and subjective stress, such that depression scores increased with increasing objective and subjective stress with standard care, but not with midwifery group practice (continuity), indicating a buffering effect of continuity of midwifery carer. Similar results were found for anxiety scores at 6 weeks, but only with subjective stress. The benefits of midwifery continuity of carer in pregnancy extend beyond a more positive birth experience and better birthing and infant outcomes, to mitigating the effects of high levels of stress experienced by women in the context of a natural disaster on postnatal mental health.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Archives of Women's Mental Health	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s00737-017-0781-2	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Psychiatry	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Depression, Postpartum	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Risk Factors	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Longitudinal Studies	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Stress, Psychological	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Midwifery	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Disasters	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Pregnancy	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Social Support	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Socioeconomic Factors	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adult	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Queensland	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Male	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Young Adult	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Floods	en_US
dc.title	Continuity of midwifery carer moderates the effects of prenatal maternal stress on postnatal maternal wellbeing: the Queensland flood study	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	21	en_US
utslib.for	1701 Psychology	en_US
utslib.for	1702 Cognitive Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	21	en_US

Abstract:

© 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria. Poor postnatal mental health is a major public health issue, and risk factors include experiencing adverse life events during pregnancy. We assessed whether midwifery group practice, compared to standard hospital care, would protect women from the negative impact of a sudden-onset flood on postnatal depression and anxiety. Women either received midwifery group practice care in pregnancy, in which they were allocated a primary midwife who provided continuity of care, or they received standard hospital care provided by various on-call and rostered medical staff. Women were pregnant when a sudden-onset flood severely affected Queensland, Australia, in January 2011. Women completed questionnaires on their flood-related hardship (objective stress), emotional reactions (subjective stress), and cognitive appraisal of the impact of the flood. Self-report assessments of the women’s depression and anxiety were obtained during pregnancy, at 6 weeks and 6 months postnatally. Controlling for all main effects, regression analyses at 6 weeks postpartum showed a significant interaction between maternity care type and objective flood-related hardship and subjective stress, such that depression scores increased with increasing objective and subjective stress with standard care, but not with midwifery group practice (continuity), indicating a buffering effect of continuity of midwifery carer. Similar results were found for anxiety scores at 6 weeks, but only with subjective stress. The benefits of midwifery continuity of carer in pregnancy extend beyond a more positive birth experience and better birthing and infant outcomes, to mitigating the effects of high levels of stress experienced by women in the context of a natural disaster on postnatal mental health.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/129059