Mother-infant postnatal experience and its association with maternal emotion and coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a partial lockdown in Malaysia known as Movement-Controlled-Order (MCO), which has affected primary care management and social life norms. Thus, psychological health is a concern for mothers, particularly during the postpartum period. This study aimed to determine factors associated with maternal emotional experiences and coping during the pandemic.

METHODOLOGY: Mothers of infants aged < 18 months ( n  = 1449) in Malaysia completed an online survey during MCO (July 2020 to February 2021). The survey comprised questions on sociodemographics, pandemic livelihood impact, maternal experiences, and emotions.

RESULTS: More than one-third of mothers expressed feeling worried (54.7%), annoyed (48.1%), and tired (42.2%) to some or a high extent. Mothers who were younger ( p  = .001), more educated ( p  = .001), faced difficulty paying rent ( p  = .002), and whose husbands were unemployed ( p  < .001) expressed higher negative emotions. In contrast, mothers who received enough support for health ( p  = .001) and breastfeeding ( p  = .008), had infants sleep less ( p  = .042) and had more time to focus on health ( p  < .001) expressed better emotions. Higher coping was expressed among mothers with a higher household income ( p  = .004), had more time to focus on their health ( p  = .010), received additional breastfeeding support ( p  = 0.039), and practised traditional postpartum care ( p  < .001). In contrast, difficulty paying for essentials ( p  = .023) was associated with negative coping.

CONCLUSION: Maternal emotional experiences were significantly associated with sociodemographic characteristics, livelihood impact, postnatal experiences, and infant behaviours. Postpartum mental health screening is recommended to prevent severe distress, especially in first-time mothers. Coping interventions for mothers at risk may include comprehensive support and maternity care.