The Maladies of New Motherhood: Negative Mood Symptoms, Postpartum Functioning, Current Interventions, and Protective Factors: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 772

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Medicine, Mercer University, Macon, GA, USA
Interests: psychiatric epidemiology; mental illness; psychological assessment; bipolar disorder; obstetric delivery; psychopathology; clinical psychiatry; psychotherapeutic processes; climate distress; climate anxiety; maternal functioning; postpartum functioning
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Motherhood is replete with joys and stresses, and marks a period of transition for both first-time mothers and those with other children. The term “spiraling out” describes the adjustment process, which in healthy, well-resourced women should theoretically accelerate over time. However, a significant portion of women are faced with complicated circumstances, including physical/mental health comorbidities or strained resources. For these reasons, mothers represent a vulnerable yet vitally important subgroup of society.

This Special Issue will focus on a broad spectrum of mental and emotional health issues in mothers, including negative mood symptoms, postpartum functional status, current interventions and protective/risk factors. I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Jennifer L. Barkin
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • maternal functioning
  • perinatal mood and anxiety disorders
  • climate distress
  • postpartum functioning
  • maternal mental health

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 461 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Tele-Continuous Care on Maternal Functioning and Neonatal Perception among Iranian Primiparous Mothers: A Randomized Field Trial Study
by Fatemeh Arang, Jennifer L. Barkin, Malihe Farid and Mahnaz Akbari Kamrani
J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13(20), 6062; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13206062 - 11 Oct 2024
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: New mothers face significant challenges during the postpartum period, which can impact their maternal performance. This study aimed to assess the effect of tele-continuous midwifery care on maternal functioning and neonatal perception in first-time Iranian mothers. Methods: A randomized controlled [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: New mothers face significant challenges during the postpartum period, which can impact their maternal performance. This study aimed to assess the effect of tele-continuous midwifery care on maternal functioning and neonatal perception in first-time Iranian mothers. Methods: A randomized controlled field trial was conducted from January to May 2023 on 48 first-time mothers in the postpartum ward at Arash Women’s Hospital, Tehran. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group. The intervention group received tele-continuous care for six weeks postpartum, while the control group received standard care. The Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning (BIMF) and the Neonatal Perception Inventory (NPI) were used to collect data in the second and sixth weeks after delivery. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26. Results: The mean age was 26.2 ± 4.8 years in the intervention group and 28.0 ± 6.1 years in the control group. An independent t-test revealed a significant difference in maternal functioning (BIMF score) between the intervention and control groups by the sixth week postpartum (p < 0.0001). A significant improvement in BIMF scores was observed within the intervention group from the second to the sixth week (p = 0.007). However, the McNemar’s test on the NPI showed no significant difference in the proportions of negative and positive maternal perceptions within the intervention group (p = 0.219) and in the control group (p = 0.508). Conclusions: Tele-continuous midwifery care effectively enhances maternal functioning during the vulnerable postpartum period, highlighting the necessity of ongoing support for new mothers. Full article
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