Psychological Distress during Pregnancy:Cross-Sectional Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors in a South African Sample

Spedding, Maxine F., Sorsdahl, Katherine, Parry, Charles D.H., Mathews, Catherine, Stein, Dan J. and Williams, Petal Petersen (2020) Psychological Distress during Pregnancy:Cross-Sectional Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors in a South African Sample. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 208 (10). pp. 755-763. ISSN 0022-3018

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Abstract

The prevalence and risk factors associated with peripartum psychological distress - a unifying factor among common mental disorders (CMDs) - are not widely understood in underresourced settings. Cross-sectional data were collected from 664 pregnant women who reported for antenatal care at any of one of the 11 midwife and obstetrics units in Cape Town, South Africa. The prevalence of prepartum psychological distress was 38.6%. Associated factors included low socioeconomic status as measured by asset ownership (odds ratio [OR], 1.45; 95% CI, 1.24-1.68), recent physical abuse and/or rape (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.57-2.40), complications during a previous birth (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.01-1.38), and having given birth before (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.21-2.14). The high prevalence of psychological distress is consistent with those found in other South African studies of peripartum CMDs. If effective context-specific interventions are to be appropriately designed, closer investigation of a broader symptomology associated with peripartum CMDs in these settings is warranted.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Publisher Copyright: © Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	associated factors,pregnancy,prevalence,psychological distress,psychiatry and mental health ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2738
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	04 Mar 2026 11:30
Last Modified:	04 Mar 2026 11:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/102164
DOI:	10.1097/NMD.0000000000001173

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