Postpartum Women's Childhood Trauma and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms: A Network Analysis

There is growing recognition of the connection between childhood trauma and postpartum depressive symptoms. However, the specific patterns and complex relationships among them remain largely unclear. This study employs network analysis to dissect the intricate associations between postpartum women's childhood trauma and postpartum depressive symptoms, aiming to lay a foundation for targeted interventions.

A total of 625 mothers who were undergoing the 42-day postpartum checkups participated in this research. Participants completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF). Using network analysis, we constructed a network model, calculated the expected influence (EI) and bridge EI (BEI) of nodes, and estimated the network's stability and accuracy.

The findings indicate that E8 (I have felt sad or miserable), C14 (Family said hurtful or insulting things to me), and C13 (Family looked out for each other) exhibited the greatest EI within the network. Meanwhile, E10 (The thought of harming myself has occurred to me), C14 (Family said hurtful or insulting things to me), and C3 (People in my family called me things like "stupid," "lazy," or "ugly") emerged as the crucial bridge symptoms.

This study uses network analysis to reveal the complex relationship between childhood trauma and postpartum depression (PPD). It highlights that hurtful childhood family remarks play a crucial role in this complex web and that early-life psychological traumas are reflected in postpartum self-harm tendencies. The findings enable healthcare providers to create targeted interventions.