Journal article
Stressful life events and depression in late pregnancy: Comparison between rural and metropolitan women using data from an Australian cohort study
Australian Journal of Rural Health, Vol.30(2), pp.218-227
2022
Abstract
Objective
To identify whether a diagnosis of depression combined with rurality, compared with either depression or living in metropolitan areas alone, is associated with experiencing more stressful life events in pregnancy.
Design
This study uses data from 402 pregnant women (206 metropolitan and 196 rural), enrolled in the Western Australian arm of the Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study. Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study is a prospective, longitudinal cohort with women recruited during early pregnancy (<20 weeks) across 3 groups: those with diagnosed depression, those taking antidepressant medication and control.
Participants
Women were recruited from 3 metropolitan and 3 rural hospitals in Western Australia from 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2020, respectively. This study uses antenatal data collected at recruitment and during third trimester (weeks 32-34).
Main outcome measures
The Stressful Life Events Scale was used to measure the number of self-reported stressful events. The degree of perceived stress due to the stressful event was also reported.
Results
Compared to pregnant metropolitan women diagnosed with depression, pregnant rural women with depression were more likely to report experiencing at least 1 stressful life event. Despite this, pregnant women with depression in both regions reported similar numbers of stressful life events.
Conclusions
This study highlights women in rural Western Australia diagnosed with depression might be more vulnerable to experiencing stressful life events than rural women without depression and their metropolitan counterparts. Due to known adverse effects of antenatal depression and stress on maternal well-being and child outcomes, there is a clear need for targeted, preventative interventions for Australian rural women during this period.
Details
- Title
- Stressful life events and depression in late pregnancy: Comparison between rural and metropolitan women using data from an Australian cohort study
- Authors/Creators
- G. Catanzariti (Author/Creator) - The University of Notre Dame AustraliaS. Watson (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityR. Oehmen (Author/Creator) - The University of Notre Dame AustraliaK.K. MacMillan (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityM. Galbally (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
- Publication Details
- Australian Journal of Rural Health, Vol.30(2), pp.218-227
- Publisher
- Blackwell Publishing
- Identifiers
- 991005543254207891
- Copyright
- © 2022 National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Health Futures Institute
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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Source: InCites
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Citation topics
- 1 Clinical & Life Sciences
- 1.72 Obstetrics & Gynecology
- 1.72.1072 Perinatal Mental Health
- Web Of Science research areas
- Nursing
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
- ESI research areas
- Clinical Medicine