Factors in Accessing Routine Health Care: Mental Health and Postpartum Mothers

One strategy proposed to decrease the maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States is to increase the rate which new mothers access routine postpartum care. Using Missouri's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (MO PRAMS) data, this retrospective study analyzed whether a self-reported history of depressive symptoms during the postpartum period was associated with a decreased rate of accessing the postpartum care visit (PPCV).

Data were collected on 7,357 new mothers who completed the Missouri PRAMS survey between 2009-2014. New mothers, in the Missouri's registry of birth certificates who have given birth in the last 2-4 months, were randomly selected for inclusion in the survey. A mixed-mode survey method with a prescribed protocol for data collection was utilized.

Fourteen percent of the respondents (1,093 new mothers) reported symptoms associated with postpartum depression. A logistic regression analysis showed that among these women a weak association was found between not accessing routine PPCV and the report of depressive symptoms (p=.0254; OR=1.344 with 95%CI=1.037-1.741). This association is a new finding.

The study finds a weakly negative association between self-reported symptoms of postpartum depression and accessing routine postpartum care. As this is a new finding, further research is needed for verification of this association.