Risk and protective factors for antepartum and postpartum depression: a prospective study

AbstractIntroduction: Antepartum risk and protective factors for postpartum depression (PPD; the most common mental disorder after childbirth besides postpartum anxiety), have been frequently investigated in cross-sectional studies, but less often longitudinally. This study examined linear and moderator effects of risk and protective factors for peripartum depression. First, we investigated the predictive power of risk factors (physical problems during pregnancy, pregnancy-related anxiety, stressful life events, dysfunctional self-consciousness (DSC)) and protective factors (resilience, social support) for antepartum depression (APD) and PPD. Second, as DSC plays an important role in major depression, we examined whether the protective factors moderate the association between the risk factors DSC and APD as well as PPD.Methods: We conducted a prospective study with three measurement time points: six weeks antepartum (N = 297), as well as six weeks (N = 278) and twelve weeks (N = 266) postpartum. Direct an...