Read Eliza's Winning Essay: Social Sciences Essay Competition 2023
Eliza Cosme,
George Bush HS,
12th grade,
United States
Maternal Self-Efficacy, Postpartum Stress, and Child Development: Bridging Gaps in Care
Introduction
Postpartum depression and anxiety manifest into physical effects that can affect a mother’s well-being, particularly her self-efficacy. However, a mother’s low self-efficacy influenced by factors such as postpartum illnesses can significantly hinder a child’s social and cognitive development. Consequently, addressing discrepancies in healthcare access and awareness is crucial to providing resources, and empowering mothers rather than leaving them and children marginalized and unsupported. How does high stress in neonatal care, combined with limited access to resources, affect postpartum depression and anxiety in mothers, and how is this related to self-efficacy? This research paper will explore the implications of various case studies and previous research studies that draw a correlation between postpartum anxiety/depression among different socio-economic and demographic groups. Exploring the impact of low maternal self-efficacy underscores the critical role of health literacy across the world.
Methodology
I rigorously examined academic journals and reputable websites, considering criteria like relevance, recency, and credibility. Thorough data analysis and synthesis identified correlations between neonatal care, resource limitations, and maternal health.
Analysis Postpartum Depression and Anxiety. Postpartum depression is a type of depression that occurs after birthing and affects around 15% of mothers. Signs of postpartum depression include extreme sadness, loneliness, or mood swings which can result in negative consequences on mothers and neonates, as cause-effect. Postpartum depression can occur in different forms such as inducing prolonged crying spells or psychosis (E., R. C. D. J., 2012). Similarly, postpartum anxiety is an excessive amount of worry occurring after childbirth- affecting 11-21% of mothers (Cleveland Clinic, 2022). A significant proponent of postpartum anxiety is the cognitive pattern in which mothers believe they are incapable of becoming a parent and maintaining adequate care for their newborn; this can manifest itself in physical effects such as insomnia, heart palpitations, and nausea.
Self-Efficacy Roles. Postpartum depression and anxiety are undoubtedly pressing issues that require heightened awareness and initiative. Prolonged treatment and relevance of these illnesses can affect one’s self-efficacy (the individual’s belief in how capable they are to perform a task.) Bandura’s Social Cognitive theory states that learning occurs in a context that accounts for social environment, past experiences, and predispositions. Bandura stressed the importance of a mother’s high self-efficacy in contributing to a child’s healthy development (Tognasso et al., 2022).
Maternal Anxiety and Self-Efficacy Study. A quasi-experimental case study done in Karachi, Pakistan analyzes the relationship between anxiety and low self-efficacy in early mother/infant relationships. The study measured mother’s anxiety levels and simultaneously measured children’s growth and development on subscales including cognition motor development. Results showed an astounding correlation of maternal postpartum anxiety/depression leading to delayed development in all scales of children’s mental development (Ali et al., 2013).
Factors Contributing to Low Self-Efficacy. While many factors can contribute to low self-efficacy, high amounts of postpartum anxiety can lead to lower scores in maternal self-confidence. (Reck et al., 2012) Lack of self-confidence impacts a mother’s ability to properly care for her child and can influence infant development and relationship. Based on data derived from mothers who took the Mother and Baby Scale (MABS), it shows that rather than anxiety stemming from attachment, postpartum anxiety is greater in association with doubt in caretaking skills. (Tognasso et al., 2022)
Impact on Economically Disadvantaged Families. Lack of caretaking skills may stem from parents' limited knowledge in interpreting newborn cues and their overall understanding of various behaviors, procedures, and care. This, in turn, can result in many parents taking a baby to the emergency room for issues like stomach problems. Each day, children incur more than 69,000 emergency visits with 58-82 percent of them for nonurgent reasons (Fieldston et al., 2012). Because of this, economically disadvantaged families not only face challenges in affording hospital visits due to financial constraints, time limitations, and commuting difficulties but also unnecessary visits place a strain on hospital resources. This also further places strain on families’ stress which can influence the children. In a survey about nonurgent emergency department use in urban pediatrics, about one-half of respondents report not receiving basic information on childhood illnesses (Kirby et al., 2021).
The Importance of Health Literacy If families have access to extensive health literacy resources concerning their children, and subsequently gain confidence in their abilities, we can better nourish children emotionally and physically. Maternal and infant health disparities represent just a fraction of the broader health inequalities deeply ingrained in systemic discrimination. Access to healthcare and insurance plays a crucial role in providing mothers with a sense of support and necessary tools to raise a healthy child. Therefore, it is imperative to enhance awareness of maternal physical and mental health in disadvantaged areas through initiatives such as health clinics, seminars, and other accessible means.
Conclusion
Low self-efficacy not only affects a mother's ability to support their children but also contributes to increased postpartum stress and anxiety, which, in turn, can have adverse effects on the child's development. Excessive worrying can lead to non-urgent healthcare visits, which can be mitigated by enhancing mothers' health literacy and expanding mental health resources. Moreover, discussing these issues openly helps destigmatize parental anxiety, encourages seeking assistance, reduces infant mortality rates, and contributes to healthcare equity- ultimately empowering mothers.
Works Cited Ali, Niloufer Sultan, et al. “Impact of Postpartum Anxiety and Depression on Child’s Mental Development from Two Peri-Urban Communities of Karachi, Pakistan: A Quasi-Experimental Study - BMC Psychiatry.” BioMed Central, 22 Oct. 2013, bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-244X-13-274.
Fieldston, Evan S et al. “A qualitative assessment of reasons for nonurgent visits to the emergency department: parent and health professional opinions.” Pediatric emergency care vol. 28,3 (2012): 220-5. doi:10.1097/PEC.0b013e318248b431
Kirby S, Wooten W, Spanier AJ. Pediatric Primary Care Relationships and Non-Urgent Emergency Department Use in Children. Acad Pediatr. 2021 Jul;21(5):900-906. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2021.03.019. Epub 2021 Apr 1. PMID: 33813066; PMCID: PMC8263464.
Reck, Corinna et al. “Effects of postpartum anxiety disorders and depression on maternal self-confidence.” Infant behavior & development vol. 35,2 (2012): 264-72. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2011.12.005
E;, Reck C;Noe D;Gerstenlauer J;Stehle. “Effects of Postpartum Anxiety Disorders and Depression on Maternal Self-Confidence.” Infant Behavior & Development, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 17 Jan. 2012, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22261433/. Accessed 12 Sept. 2023.
Tognasso, Giacomo et al. “Parenting Stress, Maternal Self-Efficacy and Confidence in Caretaking in a Sample of Mothers with Newborns (0-1 Month).” International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 19,15 9651. 5 Aug. 2022, doi:10.3390/ijerph19159651
Professional, Cleveland Clinic medical. “Postpartum Anxiety: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic, 2022, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22693-postpartum-anxiety.
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