The Association Between Self-Reported Acquisition of Perinatal Knowledge and Perinatal Depressive Symptoms: Evidence from the Korean Early Childhood Education & Care Panel Study.
7 affiliations
- 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dongguk University College of Medicine, Goyang 10326, Republic of Korea.
- 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Goyang 10326, Republic of Korea.
- 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
- 4Life Course Care Research Team, Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, Seoul 04535, Republic of Korea.
- 5Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
- 6Family Medicine Residency, Providence St. Joseph Eureka Hospital, Eureka, CA 95501, USA.
- 7Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang 10444, Republic of Korea.
Abstract
Background/objectives
Postpartum depression is a major public health concern in South Korea, where fertility is among the world's lowest. We examined whether self-reported acquisition of perinatal knowledge is associated with perinatal depressive symptoms and whether these symptoms are related to intention for a further birth.Methods
We analyzed 3278 women from the nationally representative Korean Early Childhood Education & Care Panel Study, assessed with the Korean Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (K-EPDS; screen-positive ≥ 11) at mid-pregnancy, late pregnancy, one month postpartum and the first annual follow-up (median child age 6 months). Acquisition of perinatal knowledge in four domains was self-reported at that follow-up. Associations were examined with logistic and linear regression and generalized estimating equations.Results
Screen-positive prevalence rose from 10.68% to 28.08% across the four assessments (OR 1.46 per assessment, 95% CI 1.41-1.53). Absence of reported knowledge on maternal-neonatal interaction was associated with screen-positive status in unadjusted analysis (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.06-2.04) but not after adjustment for antenatal symptoms, social support and sociodemographic covariates (adjusted OR 1.10, 95% CI 0.67-1.80; n = 2037). Social support was inversely associated with screen-positive status (adjusted OR 0.64 per point, 95% CI 0.54-0.76). Among 2236 women with complete data, intention for a further birth was reported by 38.69% of never-symptomatic women, 35.92% with antenatal symptoms only, 28.68% with postpartum-onset symptoms and 23.51% with persistent symptoms (χ² = 36.40, p < 0.0001).Conclusions
Social support, not reported perinatal knowledge, was independently associated with postpartum depressive symptoms, and postpartum-onset and persistent symptoms were associated with lower intention for a further birth. These findings support screening that begins in pregnancy and continues beyond the early postpartum period, together with strengthening social support; they do not establish that perinatal education prevents depressive symptoms.
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BibTeX
@article{cho2026association,
title = {{The Association Between Self-Reported Acquisition of Perinatal Knowledge and Perinatal Depressive Symptoms: Evidence from the Korean Early Childhood Education & Care Panel Study.}},
author = {Hye Jung Cho and Hyeri Jung and Geum-Joon Cho and Jaehee Lee and Jeong Rim Lee and Hyun-Soo Park and Hee-Sun Kim},
journal = {Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/epidemiologia7050145},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930333},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Association Between Self-Reported Acquisition of Perinatal Knowledge and Perinatal Depressive Symptoms: Evidence from the Korean Early Childhood Education & Care Panel Study.
AU - Hye Jung Cho
AU - Hyeri Jung
AU - Geum-Joon Cho
AU - Jaehee Lee
AU - Jeong Rim Lee
AU - Hyun-Soo Park
AU - Hee-Sun Kim
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/epidemiologia7050145
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930333
AB - Background/objectives Postpartum depression is a major public health concern in South Korea, where fertility is among the world's lowest. We examined whether self-reported acquisition of perinatal knowledge is associated with perinatal depressive symptoms and whether these symptoms are related to intention for a further birth.Methods We analyzed 3278 women from the nationally representative Korean Early Childhood Education & Care Panel Study, assessed with the Korean Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (K-EPDS; screen-positive ≥ 11) at mid-pregnancy, late pregnancy, one month postpartum and the first annual follow-up (median child age 6 months). Acquisition of perinatal knowledge in four domains was self-reported at that follow-up. Associations were examined with logistic and linear regression and generalized estimating equations.Results Screen-positive prevalence rose from 10.68% to 28.08% across the four assessments (OR 1.46 per assessment, 95% CI 1.41-1.53). Absence of reported knowledge on maternal-neonatal interaction was associated with screen-positive status in unadjusted analysis (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.06-2.04) but not after adjustment for antenatal symptoms, social support and sociodemographic covariates (adjusted OR 1.10, 95% CI 0.67-1.80; n = 2037). Social support was inversely associated with screen-positive status (adjusted OR 0.64 per point, 95% CI 0.54-0.76). Among 2236 women with complete data, intention for a further birth was reported by 38.69% of never-symptomatic women, 35.92% with antenatal symptoms only, 28.68% with postpartum-onset symptoms and 23.51% with persistent symptoms (χ² = 36.40, p < 0.0001).Conclusions Social support, not reported perinatal knowledge, was independently associated with postpartum depressive symptoms, and postpartum-onset and persistent symptoms were associated with lower intention for a further birth. These findings support screening that begins in pregnancy and continues beyond the early postpartum period, together with strengthening social support; they do not establish that perinatal education prevents depressive symptoms.
SN - 2673-3986
ER -