Prenatal Social Support, Postnatal Social Support, and Postpartum Depression

PurposeTo assess the association of antenatal and postnatal social support with postpartum depression (PPD).MethodsWe carried out a prospective cohort study of 534 pregnant women between February and September 2007 in Hunan, China. The association between prenatal and postnatal social support with PPD was examined.ResultsA total of 103 (19.29%) women had PPD. Women with low prenatal and postnatal social support had higher rates of PPD. For prenatal support, PPD was 28.20% in the lowest quartile versus 9.90% in the highest quartile (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 3.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.64,6.98). For postnatal support, PPD was 44.10% in the lowest quartile versus 5.40% in the highest quartile (adjusted OR: 9.64, 95% CI = 4.09, 22.69).ConclusionsLower or lack of social support is a risk factor of PPD. The association between postnatal social support and PPD is much stronger than that of prenatal social support.