Women’s perceived partner support during the perinatal and early childhood period: changes over time for women with and without Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract Partner support is an important protective factor for women’s mental health perinatally. Although there is likely a bidirectional relationship between support and mental health, a research gap exists in understanding changes in women’s experience of partner support over pregnancy and early childhood, and whether this differs for women with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). This study examines whether women diagnosed with MDD antenatally are at increased risk of deteriorating partner support over the perinatal period, after accounting for demographic effects, ongoing depressive symptoms, stressful life events, and attachment patterns. 731 women recruited into a longitudinal pregnancy cohort study, the Mercy Pregnancy Emotional Wellbeing Study, were included, of whom 124 met MDD criteria at recruitment. MDD was diagnosed at early pregnancy using the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM (SCID). Perceived partner support was measured with the Social Support Effectiveness Questionnaire (SSEQ) in third trimester, 6 and 12 months, and 4 years postpartum. Partner support changes over time were analysed with mixed effects modelling. There was an overall small but significant decline in partner support over time for all women. However, this decline was larger for women with MDD between 12 months and 4 years postpartum. Ongoing depressive symptoms, stressful life events, and insecure attachment patterns contributed to perceptions of lower partner support. The perinatal and early childhood period poses an increased risk for the partner relationship for all women, but this risk is increase for women with MDD. This knowledge could be translated into identifying vulnerable women and offering appropriate interventions.