Postpartum depression and its relationship with the positive and negative perfectionism

Hanieh Rahimi; Fatemeh Sadat Mousavi; Seyyedeh Adeleh Rahmanian; Zohre Khalajinia; Farideh Khavari

doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_162_23

Postpartum depression and its relationship with the positive and negative perfectionism

J Educ Health Promot. 2024 Mar 28:13:110. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_162_23. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Hanieh Rahimi¹, Fatemeh Sadat Mousavi², Seyyedeh Adeleh Rahmanian³, Zohre Khalajinia², Farideh Khavari^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Student of Medicine, Student Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Midwifery, Student Research Committee, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
³ Master of Midwifery, Shirvan Health and Treatment Network, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnord, Iran.
⁴ PhD Candidate in Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Research Center for Nursing and Midwifery Care, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Depression is a common mental disorder after childbirth, which has serious consequences for the mother, baby, and family. A wide range of causes, including some personality traits of mothers, are involved in its etiology. Therefore, this study was conducted aiming to determine the factors related to postpartum depression (PPD) and its relationship with positive and negative perfectionism in Qom, Iran.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 162 mothers who had been referred to health centers in Qom during 6-8 weeks after normal vaginal delivery (NVD) in 2020. After randomly classifying the health centers, the convenience sampling method was carried out. Data collection tools included social-individual information form, Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and Positive and Negative Perfectionism Questionnaire of Terry-Short. The data were analyzed using the Chi-square and Pearson correlation tests and multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Result: The prevalence of PPD in this study was 29.6%. The results showed that with the increase in the negative dimension of perfectionism, the chance of PPD in people increases by 14% (OR = 1.14, CI = 1.06-1.21), while there was no significant correlation between the positive dimension of perfectionism and PPD (r = 0.006, P > 0.05). Furthermore, the chance of PPD was higher in student mothers, mothers who had a history of PPD, and unintended pregnancy. Moreover, some factors such as multigravidity, breastfeeding, and not worrying about body image reduce the chance of occurrence.

Conclusion: Since mothers' negative perfectionism is associated with PPD, it is recommended to identify perfectionist individuals during pregnancy and after delivery and provide counseling service to them.

Keywords: Depression; Iran; perfectionism; postpartum.