Influence of Perinatal Depression on Labor-Associated Fear and Emotional Attachment to the Child in High-Risk Pregnancies and the First Days After Delivery

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of the level of perinatal depression on the labor-associated fear and emotional attachment of children born to women during high-risk pregnancies and in the first days after delivery. MATERIAL/METHODS: 133 women aged between 16 and 45 years took part in the study. The first group included 63 pregnant women (mean age=28.59, SD=5.578) with a high-risk pregnancy (of maternal origin, for example, cardiologic disorders and diabetes). The second group included 70 women (mean age=27.94, SD=5.164) who were in the first days post-partum. Research methods included: Analysis of medical documentation; Clinical interview; the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS); the Questionnaire of Labor-Associated Anxiety (KLP), the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS). RESULTS: Women after delivery displayed a higher level of concern for the child’s health and life when compared to the high-risk pregnancy group. The results indicated the appearance of a postnatal fear, the level of which is connected with the perception of the role of the mother. This fear is lower in women prior to childbirth than it is after. There has also been noted a statistically significant relationship between the appearance of depression and attachment to the child. Those women with depression show less attachment to their child than is the case for those who do not suffer from depression. CONCLUSIONS: The appearance of a high level of depression amongst women from the high-risk pregnancy group during the first days post childbirth was accompanied by perinatal depression and a weaker attachment to the child.