Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Η Επιστήμη του Στρές και η Προαγωγή της ΥγείαςLibrary of the School of Health Sciences
Author:
Ntaouti Eleftheria
Supervisors info:
Φραγκίσκος Ν. Γονιδάκης, Επίκ. Καθηγητής Ψυχιατρικής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεώργιος Π. Χρούσος, Καθηγητής - Διευθυντής Α' Παιδιατρικής Κλινικής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Σουλτάνα Χ. Σιαχανίδου, Αναπλ. Καθηγήτρια Παιδιατρικής - Νεογνολογίας, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Στάθμιση maternity blues
Translated title:
Standardization maternity blues
Summary:
Abstract
Background: Maternity blues is the mildest and most common psychopathological manifestation that occurs shortly after delivery. Although well studied in a variety of countries and cultural groups, the factors that influence the occurrence of the above mentioned phenomenon are still not fully understood. The purpose of this study was twofold: a) to gather knowledge and to interpret maternity blues in Greece; and b) to conduct reliability test of the Greek version of Kennerley and Gath’s Blues Questionnaire.
Method: 116 postpartum women, who met the inclusion criteria, completed the Blues Questionnaire and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale on the third day after delivery. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected through questionnaire.
Results: Fifty (43.10%) women experienced severe maternity blues on the third day postpartum. The factors that appear to affect the incidence of the above mentioned clinical entity are the years of marriage (p=0.013), the number of previous births (p=0.006) and the husband's occupation (p=0.04175). Cronbach′s α for the total 28-item scale was 0.85.
Conclusion: The years of marriage, the number of previous births and the economic insecurity seems to have strong impact on the occurrence of maternity blues. The above mentioned phenomenon could be better understood through the Attachment Theory and the Social Baseline Theory (SBT), as in this study emerged four clusters of the Blues Questionnaire, whose symptoms are similar to Bartholomew and Horowitz’s four-category model of attachment styles. Given the above, it is recommended to clinicians and researchers to use the Blues Questionnaire combined with reliable and valid research tools to assess women’s parenting experiences from childhood to adolescence (parental bonding), as well as their emotional response towards their newborn infant (mother-to-infant bonding).
Main subject category:
Health Sciences
Keywords:
Postnatal disorders, Maternity blues, Stress, Attachment, Social Baseline Theory, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Blues Questionnaire, Reliability test, Greece
