International Journal of Behavioral Sciences

International Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Psychosocial Factors affecting Risk of Postpartum Depression among Mothers and their Birth Satisfaction: A Systematic Review

Document Type : Review Article

Authors
Mineshi Mishra 1
Purnima Awasthi 2
1 Department of Psychology; Banaras Hindu University; Ajagara, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005.
2 Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University, Ajagara, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005
10.30491/ijbs.2025.483679.2165
Abstract
Introduction: Negative birth experiences have been associated with an increased risk of Postpartum Depression (PPD). However, an exhaustive systematic analysis of existing literature examining this correlation is lacking. This systematic review investigates the association between birth satisfaction and the likelihood of PPD. Additionally, it seeks to identify modifiable psychosocial factors influencing this relationship by conducting a systematic analysis of existing literature.
Method: A systematic review of studies (2010–2024) was conducted using three databases per PRISMA guidelines. The study was conducted in three stages. The review focused on studies analyzing PPD, birth satisfaction, or both, with searches using a variety of relevant terms and limited to English-language publications.
Results: Twenty-one studies meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed. A significant correlation was found between PPD and birth dissatisfaction. Furthermore, psychosocial factors such as social support, maternal self-esteem, and healthcare facilities were also identified as crucial factors influencing PPD and birth satisfaction.
Conclusion: Improving maternal care practices, ensuring respectful and compassionate support during childbirth, and addressing the psychosocial factors that influence birth satisfaction are essential for reducing the risk of PPD.
Keywords
Postpartum Depression, Birth Satisfaction, Healthcare Facilities
Social Support, Pregnant, Psychosocial Factors
  1. Setse R, Grogan R, Pham L, Cooper LA, Strobino D, Powe NR, Nicholson W. Longitudinal study of depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life during pregnancy and after delivery: the Health Status in Pregnancy (HIP) study. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2009 Sep;13:577-87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0392-7
  2. Barbosa-Leiker C, McPherson S, Mamey MR, Burns GL, Layton ME, Roll J, Ling W. Examining the factor structure of the clinical opiate withdrawal scale: A secondary data analysis from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) 0003. Drug and alcohol dependence. 2015 Jul 1;152:218-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.03.036
  3. O’Connor E, Rossom RC, Henninger M, Groom HC, Burda BU. Primary care screening for and treatment of depression in pregnant and postpartum women: evidence report and systematic review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. Jama. 2016 Jan 26;315(4):388-406. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.18948
  4. Dannenbring D, Stevens MJ, House AE. Predictors of childbirth pain and maternal satisfaction. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 1997 Apr;20:127-42. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1025526610524
  5. Gibbins J, Thomson AM. Women's expectations and experiences of childbirth. Midwifery. 2001 Dec 1;17(4):302-13. https://doi.org/10.1054/midw.2001.0263
  6. Nelson AM. Transition to motherhood. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing. 2003 Jul;32(4):465-77. https://doi.org/10.1177/0884217503255199
  7. Nilvér H, Begley C, Berg M. Measuring women’s childbirth experiences: a systematic review for identification and analysis of validated instruments. BMC pregnancy and childbirth. 2017 Dec;17:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1356-y
  8. Smarandache A, Kim TH, Bohr Y, Tamim H. Predictors of a negative labor and birth experience based on a national survey of Canadian women. BMC pregnancy and childbirth. 2016 Dec;16:1-9.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-016-0903-2
  9. Hollins Martin C, Fleming V. The birth satisfaction scale. International journal of health care quality assurance. 2011 Feb 8;24(2):124-35. http://doi.org/1108/09526861111105086
  10. Rudman LA, Phelan JE, Heppen JB. Developmental sources of implicit attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 2007 Dec;33(12):1700-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167207307487
  11. Jha P, Larsson M, Christensson K, Skoog Svanberg A. Satisfaction with childbirth services provided in public health facilities: results from a cross-sectional survey among postnatal women in Chhattisgarh, India. Global health action. 2017 Jan 1;10(1):1386932. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2017.1386932
  12. Taheri M, Takian A, Taghizadeh Z, Jafari N, Sarafraz N. Creating a positive perception of childbirth experience: systematic review and meta-analysis of prenatal and intrapartum interventions. Reproductive health. 2018 Dec;15:1-3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-018-0511-x
  13. Funai F, Norwitz E. Management of Normal Labor and Delivery Uptodate. Thursday January. 2009;1. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:231619545
  14. Hildingsson I, Johansson M, Karlström A, Fenwick J. Factors Associated With a Positive Birth Experience: An Exploration of Swedish Women's Experiences. International journal of childbirth. 2013 Sep 1;3(3). http://doi.org/10.1891/2156-5287.3.3.153
  15. Yildiz PD, Ayers S, Phillips L. The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder in pregnancy and after birth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders. 2017 Jan 15;208:634-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.10.009
  16. Garthus-Niegel S, Horsch A, Handtke E, Von Soest T, Ayers S, Weidner K, Eberhard-Gran M. The impact of postpartum posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms on couples’ relationship satisfaction: a population-based prospective study. Frontiers in psychology. 2018 Sep 19;9:1728. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01728
  17. WHO recommendations: intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience. World Health Organization. 2018 Jun 25. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241550215
  18. Ghaedrahmati M, Kazemi A, Kheirabadi G, Ebrahimi A, Bahrami M. Postpartum depression risk factors: A narrative review. Journal of education and health promotion. 2017 Jan 1;6(1):60. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_9_16
  19. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. ACOG practice bulletin no. 127: Management of preterm labor. Obstetrics and gynecology. 2012 Jun;119(6):1308-17. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0b013e31825af2f0
  20. Mariño‐Narvaez C, Puertas‐Gonzalez JA, Romero‐Gonzalez B, Peralta‐Ramirez MI. Giving birth during the COVID‐19 pandemic: The impact on birth satisfaction and postpartum depression. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. 2021 Apr;153(1):83-88. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.13565
  21. Unsal Atan Ş, Ozturk R, Gulec Satir D, Ildan Çalim S, Karaoz Weller B, Amanak K, Saruhan A, Şirin A, Akercan F. Relation between mothers' types of labor, birth interventions, birth experiences and postpartum depression: A multicentre follow-up study. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 18, 13-18 [Internet]. 2018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.srhc.2018.08.001
  22. Tuohy A, McVey C. Subscales measuring symptoms of non‐specific depression, anhedonia, and anxiety in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2008 Jun;47(2):153-69. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.2008.tb00463.x
  23. Beck AT. Cognitive therapy: A 30-year retrospective. American psychologist. 1991 Apr;46(4):368. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.46.4.368
  24. O'Hara MW. Postpartum depression: what we know. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2009 Dec 12;65(12):1258-69. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20644
  25. Robertson E, Grace S, Wallington T, Stewart DE. Antenatal risk factors for postpartum depression: a synthesis of recent literature. General hospital psychiatry. 2004 Jul 1;26(4):289-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2004.02.006
  26. Hahn-Holbrook J, Cornwell-Hinrichs T, Anaya I. Economic and health predictors of national postpartum depression prevalence: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of 291 studies from 56 countries. Frontiers in psychiatry. 2018 Feb 1;8:248. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00248
  27. Martínez-Galiano JM, Hernández-Martínez A, Rodríguez-Almagro J, Delgado-Rodríguez M. Quality of life of women after giving birth: associated factors related with the birth process. Journal of clinical medicine. 2019 Mar 7;8(3):324. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8030324
  28. Bloomfield FH, Oliver MH, Hawkins P, Campbell M, Phillips DJ, Gluckman PD, Challis JR, Harding JE. A periconceptional nutritional origin for noninfectious preterm birth. Science. 2003 Apr 25;300(5619):606-. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1080803
  29. Dole N, Savitz DA, Hertz-Picciotto I, Siega-Riz AM, McMahon MJ, Buekens P. Maternal stress and preterm birth. American journal of epidemiology. 2003 Jan 1;157(1):14-24. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwf176
  30. Geller PA. Pregnancy as a stressful life event. CNS spectrums. 2004 Mar;9(3):188-97. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1092852900008981
  31. Thorpe KJ, Dragonas T, Golding J. The effects of psychosocial factors on the emotional well-being of women during pregnancy: a cross-cultural study of Britain and Greece. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology. 1992 Oct 1;10(4):191-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646839208403953
  32. Toews LC. Compliance of systematic reviews in veterinary journals with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) literature search reporting guidelines. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA. 2017 Jul;105(3):233. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2017.246
  33. Antonovsky A. The salutogenic model as a theory to guide health promotion. Health promotion international. 1996 Mar 1;11(1):11-8. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/11.1.11
  34. Hollins Martin C, Fleming V. The birth satisfaction scale. International journal of health care quality assurance. 2011 Feb 8;24(2):124-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/09526861111105086
  35. Urbanová E, Škodová Z, Bašková M. The association between birth satisfaction and the risk of postpartum depression. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2021 Oct 5;18(19):10458. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910458
  36. Tiwari SK, Murry L, Joshi P, Tallanao T, Zined R, Hollins Martin CJ, Martin CR. Translation and validation of the Hindi‐Indian version of the Birth Satisfaction Scale‐Revised. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research. 2023 Mar;49(3):938-45. https://doi.org/10.1111/jog.15520
  37. Luegmair K, Zenzmaier C, Oblasser C, König-Bachmann M. Women’s satisfaction with care at the birthplace in Austria: Evaluation of the Babies Born Better survey national dataset. Midwifery. 2018 Apr 1;59:130-40. . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2018.01.003
  38. Martin CR, Hollins Martin C, Redshaw M. The birth satisfaction scale-revised Indicator (BSS-RI). BMC pregnancy and childbirth. 2017 Dec;17:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1459-5
  39. Fleming SE, Donovan-Batson C, Burduli E, Barbosa-Leiker C, Martin CJ, Martin CR. Birth Satisfaction Scale/Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS/BSS-R): A large scale United States planned home birth and birth centre survey. Midwifery. 2016 Oct 1;41:9-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2016.07.008
  40. Jafari E, Mohebbi P, Mazloomzadeh S. Factors related to women's childbirth satisfaction in physiologic and routine childbirth groups. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research. 2017 May 1;22(3):219-24. https://doi.org/10.4103/1735-9066.208161
  41. Maskálová E, Mazúchová L, Kelčíková S, Samselyová J, Kukučiarová L. Satisfaction of women with childbirth. Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery. 2021;12(4):537. http://dx.doi.org/10.15452/cejnm.2021.12.0031
  42. Konieczka J, Tomczyk K, Wilczak M, Chmaj-Wierzchowska K. Factors Affecting Women’s Assessment and Satisfaction with Their Childbirth. Medicina. 2024 Jan 1;60(1):86. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina60010086
  43. Silverman ME, Reichenberg A, Savitz DA, Cnattingius S, Lichtenstein P, Hultman CM, Larsson H, Sandin S. The risk factors for postpartum depression: A population‐based study. Depression and anxiety. 2017 Feb;34(2):178-87. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22597
  44. Upadhyay RP, Chowdhury R, Salehi A, Sarkar K, Singh SK, Sinha B, Pawar A, Rajalakshmi AK, Kumar A. Postpartum depression in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2017 Oct 10;95(10):706. https://doi.org/10.2471/blt.17.192237
  45. van der Zee-van AI, Boere-Boonekamp MM, Groothuis-Oudshoorn CG, Reijneveld SA. Postpartum depression and anxiety: a community-based study on risk factors before, during and after pregnancy. Journal of affective disorders. 2021 May 1;286:158-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.02.062
  46. Li Y, Long Z, Cao D, Cao F. Maternal history of child maltreatment and maternal depression risk in the perinatal period: A longitudinal study. Child abuse & neglect. 2017 Jan 1;63:192-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.12.001
  47. Cardoso C, Fonseca A. Mothers at-risk for postpartum depression: Mental health and emotion regulation throughout the postpartum period. Current Psychology. 2023 May;42(15):12988-3002. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12144-021-02435-7
  48. Yim IS, Tanner Stapleton LR, Guardino CM, Hahn-Holbrook J, Dunkel Schetter C. Biological and psychosocial predictors of postpartum depression: systematic review and call for integration. Annual review of clinical psychology. 2015 Mar 28;11(1):99-137. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-101414-020426
  49. Abdollahi F, Zarghami M. Effect of postpartum depression on women’s mental and physical health four years after childbirth. East Mediterr Health J. 2018 Oct 1;24(10):1002-9. https://doi.org/10.26719/2018.24.10.1002
  50. Batt MM, Duffy KA, Novick AM, Metcalf CA, Epperson CN. Is postpartum depression different from depression occurring outside of the perinatal period? A review of the evidence. Focus. 2020 Apr;18(2):106-19. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20190045
  51. Martínez-Borba V, Suso-Ribera C, Osma J, Andreu-Pejó L. Predicting postpartum depressive symptoms from pregnancy biopsychosocial factors: A longitudinal investigation using structural equation modeling. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020 Nov;17(22):8445. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228445
  52. Anna S. Postpartum depression and birth experience in Russia. Psychology in Russia: State of the art. 2021;14(1):28-38. https://doi.org/10.11621/pir.2021.0103
  53. Ďuríčeková B, Škodová Z, Bašková M. Risk factors associated with postpartum depression and PTSD after birth in a sample of Slovak women. Heliyon. 2024 Jan 15;10(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23560
  54. Dennis CL, Singla DR, Brown HK, Savel K, Clark CT, Grigoriadis S, Vigod SN. Postpartum Depression: A Clinical Review of Impact and Current Treatment Solutions. Drugs. 2024 May 30:1-5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-024-02038-z
  55. Littleton H, Horsley S, John S, Nelson DV. Trauma coping strategies and psychological distress: a meta‐analysis. Journal of Traumatic Stress: Official Publication of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. 2007 Dec;20(6):977-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jts.20276
  56. Smorti M, Ponti L, Pancetti F. A comprehensive analysis of post-partum depression risk factors: The role of socio-demographic, individual, relational, and delivery characteristics. Frontiers in public health. 2019 Oct 24;7:295. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00295
  57. Kettunen P, Hintikka J. Psychosocial risk factors and treatment of new onset and recurrent depression during the post-partum period. Nordic journal of psychiatry. 2017 Jul 4;71(5):355-61. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2017.1300324
  58. Al Ahmar E, Tarraf S. Assessment of the socio-demographic factors associated with the satisfaction related to the childbirth experience. open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2014 Jul 15;2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojog.2014.410083
  59. Smith EN, Romero C, Donovan B, Herter R, Paunesku D, Cohen GL, Dweck CS, Gross JJ. Emotion theories and adolescent well-being: Results of an online intervention. Emotion. 2018 Sep;18(6):781. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000379

 

 

International Journal of Behavioral Sciences
Volume 19, Issue 1
Spring 2025
Pages 17-26