SOCIAL SUPPORT AND POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

Discrepancies between prenatal social support expectations and subsequ ent perceptions of support actually received were examined in relation to postpartum depression. Low-risk primiparous women (N = 105) were s urveyed 1 month before and 1 month after delivery. Almost half of the women prenatally and one third postpartally had depression scores whic h would lead them to be classified as possibly depressed (CES-D scores of 16 or greater). In multiple regression, two social support discrep ancy measures, prenatal depression and postpartal closeness to husband , correlated with postpartal depression and accounted for nearly 40% o f its variance. The generalizability of the findings should be further explored, but the findings suggest the need for attention to prenatal expectations of postpartum support as a way to influence the incidenc e of postpartum depression. In addition, continued efforts to identify causes of postpartum closeness with the spouse are needed. (C) 1994 J ohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.