title: Postpartum depressive symptoms in the first 17 months after childbirth: the impact of an emotionally supportive partnership.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigates the impact on different postpartum depressive trajectories (i.e., "non depressive symptoms", "stable depressive symptoms", "deterioration" and "improvement") from 5-17 months after childbirth exerted by emotional support that mothers receive from their partners and emotional support they provide to their partners.
  
  
  METHODS
  Postpartum depressive symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale 5 and 17 months after delivery in a sample of 293 mothers. Emotional support received from the partners was assessed among both mothers and partners.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The initial level and the change in emotional support that mothers received from their partners were related to different trajectories of postpartum depressive symptoms. Mothers who were living in a partnership with low reciprocal emotional support showed a significantly higher risk of suffering from "stable depressive symptoms" than mothers who were living in a partnership with high reciprocal emotional support.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An increased risk of persistent depressive symptoms beyond the early postpartum period was observed in mothers with poor reciprocal emotional support in the partnership. Further research is needed for a better understanding of the mothers persistent depressive symptoms after childbirth associated with reciprocity of emotional support in the partnership.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. daniela.bielinski@dkf.unibe.ch
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bielinski-Blattmann
authors.forename: Sakari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lemola
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jaussi
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Stadlmayr
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grob
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017533:Marital Status; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D013557:Switzerland