Precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress act as a risk factor for symptoms of postpartum depression during maternity leave: results from a longitudinal cohort study

BMC Public Health

Julia Martini¹  Marlene Karl²  Marie Kopp²  Ronja Schaber²  Kerstin Weidner²  Victoria Kress²  Susan Garthus-Niegel³ 

[1] Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine of the Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany;Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of the Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany;Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of the Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany;Department of Child Health and Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway;

关键词: Postpartum depressive symptoms;    Peripartum health;    Maternal mental health;    Psychosocial work stress;    Effort-reward imbalance;    Precarious working conditions;    DREAM study;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-020-09573-w

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe majority of Western women work during their reproductive years, but past research has often neglected the influence of work-related factors on postpartum mental health. Especially postpartum depression (PPD) is an enormous psychological burden for mothers. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the prospective impact of precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress during pregnancy (such as work-privacy conflict and effort-reward imbalance at the job) on symptoms of maternal PPD.MethodsIn the prospective-longitudinal cohort study DREAM (DResdner Studie zu Elternschaft, Arbeit und Mentaler Gesundheit), N = 587 employed women were questioned about their work during pregnancy and their mental health 8 weeks after delivery.ResultsMultiple regression analyses revealed that work-privacy conflict, low reward at work, and precarious working conditions significantly predicted symptoms of PPD, even when controlling for lifetime depression, anxiety, education, parity, and age.ConclusionOur results indicate that psychosocial work stress and precarious working conditions have important implications for maternal peripartum mental health. They might act as prospective risk factors for PPD during the period of maternal leave. Hence, future research should focus on preventative measures targeting work life.

【 授权许可】

CC BY