The role of maternal emotional cognitive strategies and newborn gender satisfaction in the postpartum depression in the primiparous women

Background: The Postpartum depression has a negative effect on the infant’s developmental and behavioral performance, mother-child relationship and mother‘s health, and its etiology is also very complicated. Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the role of maternal emotional cognitive strategies and newborn gender preference in the postpartum depression in primiparous women. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was performed on 205 primiparous women referring to health centers in Kerman city the center of Kerman province of Iran from 1April to 31 June 2015. Primiparous women according to presence (n=103) or absence (n=102) of postpartum depression (PPD 12: without depression) were selected using purposeful sampling. The measurement tools included the demographic questionnaire, Edinburgh postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). The data were analyzed using SPSS software and the logistic regression method. Results: The results showed positive cognitive strategies including acceptance, positive re-focus and re-focus on planning have a negative relationship with the postpartum depression (P 0.001). Also, the strategies of self-blame, catastrophizing, rumination and blame for others have a positive relationship with the postpartum depression (P 0.001). There was no significant relationship between dissatisfaction with newborn gender and postpartum depression (P 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, postpartum depression can be predicted by emotional regulation cognitive strategies.