| Perinatal depression refers to women’s depression of different degrees from pregnancy to 12 months after delivery,which is mainly characterized by depression,accompanied by loss of interest,decreased attention,low sense of self-worth and other manifestations,including prenatal depression and postpartum depression,and is one of the most common complications in the perinatal period.Without scientific intervention,perinatal depression will cause serious health risks to mothers and their offspring,which will cause great social harm.The scientific intervention methods of perinatal depression are diverse and effective,and the prognosis of perinatal depression is good,but foreign studies show that women with perinatal depression do not actively seek professional psychological assistance,which has many influencing factors.The incidence of perinatal depression in pregnant women in China is high,but the relevant research on professional psychological help of women with perinatal depression is insufficient.Therefore,it is of theoretical and practical value to explore the current situation of psychological help of women with perinatal depression and its influencing factors.The purpose of this study is to:(1)understand the status quo of professional psychological help-seeking behavior of women with perinatal depression;(2)to explore the influencing factors of professional psychological help-seeking behavior of women with perinatal depression.Based on the above research objectives,a mixed quantitative and qualitative research design was adopted to conduct two studies: Study 1.A cross-sectional quantitative research method was used to investigate the psychological seeking status of women with perinatal depression.A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 404 pregnant women aged 24-38 who visited the Obstetrics and Gynecology and Child Health Department of a tertiary hospital in Wuhan using a convenient sampling method through a questionnaire survey,The measurement tools used include demography questionnaire,Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale(EPDS),Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support(MSPSS),Actual Help Seeking Questionnaire(AHSQ),and Help Seeking Intentions in General Help Seeking Questionnaire(GHSQ).In Study 2,using a qualitative research method based on grounded theory and a purposive sampling method,15 interviewees with depression(EPDS score > 9)but without professional psychological assistance were selected from the survey subjects in Study 1,and a 30-50 minute individual interview was conducted to deeply analyze and explore other factors affecting the professional psychological assistance behavior of women with perinatal depression.Results: 1.Status of psychological help for women with perinatal depression: 196(48.5%)pregnant and lying-in women had perinatal depression(EPDS score > 9),of which178(90.8%)women with perinatal depression had professional or non-professional psychological help to others for emotional problems,and 84(42.9%)women with perinatal depression had professional psychological help to professionals.Among professional psychological help,73(37.2%)women with perinatal depression had the highest proportion of seeking help from general practitioners;Only 11(5.6%)women with perinatal depression had sought help from mental health experts and psychological assistance hotline.The results of multiple linear regression showed that education level,depression level,professional help-seeking intention,non-professional help-seeking intention and non-professional help-seeking behavior were significantly positively correlated with the professional psychological help-seeking behavior of women with perinatal depression(P<0.05).2.The results of qualitative analysis show that the professional help-seeking behavior of women with perinatal depression is an interactive process between individual pregnant women and the medical and health system in a social environment.The influencing factors of psychological help-seeking among women with perinatal depression include four factors: individual pregnant women,medical and health system,social support,and social environment.Among them,maternal individual factors are direct and internal factors,including subjective and objective conditions such as maternal health beliefs,role adaptation of novice mothers,realistic conditions,and help-seeking preferences,which directly affect the professional psychological help-seeking behavior of women with perinatal depression.As a provider of psychological services for pregnant and lying-in women,the medical and health system is a direct and external factor,including policies and systems,institutional environment,and professionals,which directly affect women with perinatal depression seeking professional psychological services.Social support and social environment are intermediary and external factors that directly affect maternal health beliefs and the role adaptation process of novice mothers,and indirectly affect the professional help-seeking behavior of women with perinatal depression.Conclusions: The incidence of perinatal depression in pregnant and lying-in women is high.Women with perinatal depression tend to seek non-professional help from the social support system when they ask for help on psychological problems,and the rate of seeking help for professional objects such as mental health experts or psychological assistance hotline is very low.The professional help-seeking behavior of women with perinatal depression is affected by the interaction of maternal individual,medical and health system,social support and social environment.Facing the treatment gap with high incidence of maternal depression and low professional psychological help-seeking rate,the family,society and medical and health system should pay attention to and work together.In combination with the social reality,it is suggested that maternal and infant health care institutions should be organically combined with psychological service institutions to implement the psychological screening of pregnant and lying-in women,the popularization of science on perinatal depression,the addition of professional psychological services such as psychological department,and the development of a network intervention platform for perinatal depression through interdisciplinary cooperation;Call on family members to jointly bear the responsibility of parenting,care for the pregnant and lying-in women,take the initiative to learn the relevant knowledge of perinatal depression,reduce the parenting pressure of pregnant and lying-in women,help identify the depressive symptoms of pregnant and lying-in women,and encourage them to seek professional psychological help in time;The society should strive to create an atmosphere and mechanism with equal division of labor between men and women in the family and equal employment opportunities for women after childbirth,so as to help women break away from the cultural shackles of "intensive motherhood" and have the courage to actively seek help;We will increase the popularization of science in the community and on the Internet for perinatal mental illness and professional psychological help,correct the public’s misconception of perinatal depression,and form a friendly atmosphere for social help. |
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