Mental health and worries of pregnant women living through disaster recovery.
Gloria Peel Giarratano, Veronica Barcelona, Jane Savage and 1 others
PMID 31026188WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnant women in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina reported depression symptoms, PTSD, anxiety, stress, and seven worry themes: pregnancy health, family, housing, newborn care, immigration, mental health, and loss.
Poor social support was linked to depression, PTSD, and stress.
Key findings
01Among 402 women, 30.67% indicated depression symptomology and 8.75% indicated PTSD.
02Of the 402 women, 229 answered an open-ended worries question; thematic analysis produced seven worry themes: health of pregnancy, baby, and birth; family and parenting; housing and finances; newborn health, care, breastfeeding; immigration and separated motherhood; mental health concerns; and death and loss.
03Depression, PTSD, and perceived stress scores were significantly associated with poor social support indicators, including no one to lend $50, no one to help if sick, no one to take the woman to the clinic, and no one to talk to.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The design was cross-sectional, so it did not follow changes in worry and concerns over time. The sample only included women enrolled in prenatal care, so it does not describe women who might have had the least resources and support. Only 229 of 402 women answered the open-ended worries question, so the qualitative themes are based on that subset. An Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Index administration error affected 89 women, and one missing item was imputed from their other scores.
Declared interests
The paper lists NIH extramural research support. No author conflicts of interest are stated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the themes or associations as evidence that screening, referral, or social support improves maternal or newborn outcomes. This was a cross-sectional survey, not a treatment study.