Understanding and alleviating maternal postpartum distress: Perspectives from first-time mothers in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Numerous factors have been shown to cause (or alleviate) maternal psychological distress in the early postpartum period, and a variety of interventions have been developed with the goal of preventing and/or managing such distress. However, only a few studies have explored new mothers' perspectives on the sources of their distress in the first six months' postpartum alongside the researchers' recommendations for interventions to address those sources.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to (a) identify factors associated with normative psychological distress in the first 6-months' postpartum by healthy Australian first-time mothers, and (b) outline practical methods-rooted in those factors-deemed to be effective for preventing maternal psychological distress.

METHOD: Semi-structured interviews with 32 first-time mothers and thematic content analysis.

RESULTS: Factors associated with maternal psychological distress emerged in relation to cognitive, behavioural, baby, and social factors. Mothers also indicated that interventions targeting reductions in psychological distress should include education-for mothers and significant others-prior to the postpartum period. These interventions should be delivered by credible information sources (e.g. other mothers, child-health nurses) and should focus on confidence-enhancement and social support provision.

CONCLUSION: As well as reinforcing evidence regarding common postpartum stressors, this study revealed novel insight into issues associated with normative psychological distress for new mothers (e.g., self-compassion). Perhaps most significant was that mothers also identified a range of clear practical strategies for community-based intervention designs that target psychological distress. As a result, these findings provide guidelines for interventions aimed at reducing psychological distress in the early postpartum period for Australian mothers.