When a Parent Is Born: An Integrated Approach to Perinatal Mental Health and Early Risk Screening

This article presents the "When a Parent is Born" project, focused on early identification and intervention for psychological distress during pregnancy and postpartum. It addresses the perinatal vulnerability to depression, and psychological distress, providing psychological support for high-risk cases within a clinical setting. The sample included 997 pregnant women (Mean_age = 32.75; SD = 5.33). The protocol encompassed psychological distress (EPDS, PAMA), social support (MSSS), couples' relationship (DAS), childhood maltreatment (CTQ-SF), and prenatal attachment (MAAS). Univariate and multivariate linear regression models were employed for the analyses. This study highlighted the prevalence of depressive symptoms in 24.7% of the sample, a non-clinical population, and suicidal risk in 2.4%. All predictors were associated with EPDS and PAMA scores in univariate regressions (p < 0.005). In the multivariate model of childhood trauma predictors, emotional abuse and neglect were significant for EPDS (F = 19.584, p < 0.001) and PAMA (F = 17.876, p < 0.001). In the multivariate regression models, the main significant associations (EPDS; F = 17.708, p < 0.001) (PAMA; F = 19.346, p < 0.001) remained for DAS (p < 0.001) and emotional abuse (EPDS p = 0.005; PAMA p < 0.001). These findings revealed factors associated with perinatal psychological distress and highlighted the importance of psychological screening during pregnancy to support holistic care through a multidisciplinary team. However, the study presents limitations, including the use of self-report measures, the cross-sectional nature of the data, and the limited generalizability of the findings, as the sample is restricted to Southern Italy.