Psychological predictors of chronic pain and depression following child-birth

Abstract

Persistent pain and postnatal depression (PND) following childbirth affects a significant proportion of women and can have serious and long-term consequences. Within mainstream chronic pain research, psychosocial variables such as depression, anxiety, stress, pain catastrophising and perceived social support have frequently been associated with pain severity and pain coping. These psychosocial factors have also been linked to the occurrence of PND. The current study aimed to examine psychosocial predictors of persistent pain and PND following childbirth. Women (N=220) in the final two months of their pregnancies were recruited through an internet parenting site and to complete an online survey. Sociodemographic and medical information, along with measures of stress, anxiety, depression, perceived social support and pain catastrophising were collected. Approximately 12 weeks after reported due dates, women who agreed to participate in second part of the study (N=111) were followed up to complete measures of postnatal pain and PND. A regression analysis revealed that only pain catastrophising before birth significantly predicted persistent pain in the final model. In a separate analysis, prenatal anxiety and persistent pain significantly predicted levels of PND.