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Social support and prenatal mental health problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

A. Tilahune ,
W. Peng ,
J. Adams  and
D. Sibbritt
A. Tilahune*
Affiliation:
University of Technology Sydney, Public Health, Sydney, Australia
W. Peng
Affiliation:
University of Technology Sydney, Public Health, Sydney, Australia
J. Adams
Affiliation:
University of Technology Sydney, Public Health, Sydney, Australia
D. Sibbritt
Affiliation:
University of Technology Sydney, Public Health, Sydney, Australia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Pregnancy is a time of profound physical and emotional change as well as an increased risk of mental health problems. Providing social support is vital to reduce such risk.

Objectives

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at examining the relationship between social support and depression, anxiety and self-harm during pregnancy.

Methods

We searched observational studies from PubMed, Psych Info, MIDIRS, SCOPUS, and CINAHL databases. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale tool was used for quality appraisal. The Q and the I² statistics were used to evaluate heterogeneity. A random-effects model was used to pool estimates. Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot and Egger’s regression test and adjusted using trim and Fill analysis. All the analysis was conducted using STATA.

Results

Sixty-seven studies with 64,449 pregnant women were part of the current review. Of the total 67 studies, 22 and 45 studies were included in the narrative analysis and meta-analysis, respectively. From the studies included in the narrative analysis, 20(91%) of them reported a significant association between social support and the risk of mental health problems (i.e. depression, anxiety, and self-harm). After adjusting for publication bias, the results of the random-effect model revealed low social support was significantly associated with antenatal depression (AOR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.41) and antenatal anxiety (AOR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.34, 2.92).

Conclusions

Low social support was significantly associated with depression, anxiety, and self-harm during pregnancy. Policy-makers and those working on maternity care should consider the development of targeted social support programs to help reduce mental health problems amongst pregnant women.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

Depressionsocial supportPregnancyAnxiety
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S105
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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