Exploring factors associated with complete mental health of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fabiana Monteiro, Daniela V Fernandes, Raquel Pires and 3 others
PMID 36288676WHAT IT FOUND
Higher self-compassion and mindful self-care were associated with complete mental health, meaning high positive wellbeing and no clinically relevant depression or anxiety, among 207 pregnant Portuguese women.
This cross-sectional study cannot show these practices caused better mental health.
Key findings
01In the model that considered the selected variables together, higher self-compassion and higher mindful self-care were significantly associated with complete mental health, while history of psychological problems was marginally associated with lower odds.
0247.3% reported clinically relevant depressive and/or anxiety symptoms; among those without such symptoms, 58.7% were flourishing, and among those with them, 23.5% were flourishing.
03The final model correctly predicted 82.8% of cases.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The cross-sectional design measured associations at one time point, so it cannot show that self-compassion or mindful self-care caused complete mental health. The sample was recruited online through social media and a university website, so self-selection may have included women who were more motivated and interested in pregnancy or mental health. The analysed sample was mostly married or living with a partner (90.8%), employed (88.4%), university-educated (82.1%), urban (69.1%), and higher-income, which limits generalisation to all pregnant women. All variables were self-reported, so answers may reflect social desirability rather than actual feelings or behaviours. The mindful self-care measure included self-compassion, so overlap between the measures may have influenced results. The study did not include some other variables that may explain complete mental health. Only women at least 20 weeks of gestation were analysed, and 68 of 275 consented women were excluded for shorter gestation.
Declared interests
This study was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, and some authors received doctoral or research-contract support from the same body. The authors declare no competing financial interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that practising self-compassion or mindful self-care will improve a pregnant woman's mental health. This was a cross-sectional survey, so it only measured associations at one time point and cannot show cause.