Abstracts - Posters
Project Ice Storm: The Impact of the 1998 Ice Storm on Postnatal Depression: The Role of Social Support
Sawsan Mbirkou1, David P. Laplante, Alain Brunet and Jean Caron
1Douglas Hospital Research Centre
sawsanoune@yahoo.fr
Climate change sometimes results in natural disasters such as an ice storm. During these natural disasters, pregnant women are among those most at risk of being affected psychologically. The stress brought on by a natural disaster can lead to the development of symptoms of depression in women, especially after the birth of a child, which is the most vulnerable period for the pregnant woman. Postnatal depression is dangerous not only for the mother, but also for the newborn, whom the mother may neglect if she is suffering from depression. It is therefore important to study the impact of a natural disaster resulting from climate change on postnatal depression and to determine if social support at the time of the crisis could reduce the negative impacts of the depression.
Within the framework of our Ice Storm Project, we monitored 174 women who had been exposed to a significant stress during their pregnancy: the ice storm that affected Montérégie, Quebec in 1998. Among these women, several suffered from symptoms of depression after the birth of their child. The goal of our research is to determine 1) if the pregnant women most affected by the ice storm suffered more symptoms of depression after birth than women who were spared by the natural disaster and 2) if women receiving more social support suffered from fewer symptoms of depression after birth than those who received less social support.
2005-04-06 |
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