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Personal Growth 4 Years After Premature Childbirth: The Role of Change in Maternal Mental Health

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Abstract

Using a longitudinal design, the current study aimed to extend previous research by exploring three questions concerning the mechanism underlying the process of mothers’ personal growth in the aftermath of a premature birth: Are the positive changes reported previously by women who gave birth prematurely long-lasting and salient 4 years post-partum? Does the degree of change in maternal mental health over time predict personal growth 4 years after childbirth? Does the change in maternal mental health mediate between premature birth and personal growth 4 years later? Mental health was examined in four assessment waves: 1 month, and 1, 2, and 4 years after childbirth. Personal growth was tapped in the last wave. Data were collected from 561 Israeli mothers. The findings reveal that mothers who gave birth prematurely report higher personal growth 4 years after childbirth than mothers who delivered at full-term. Moreover, higher initial mental health and greater improvement in mental health over time predicted higher personal growth. In addition, the higher personal growth shown by women who gave birth prematurely was explained by their greater improvement in mental health over time than women who delivered at full-term. Finally, more highly educated and multiparous women reported an increase in mental health over time, which, in turn was associated with higher personal growth. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Ginna Porat-Zyman & Orit Taubman – Ben-Ari

  2. Department of Neonatology, The Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Jacob Kuint & Iris Morag

Authors
  1. Ginna Porat-Zyman
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  2. Orit Taubman – Ben-Ari
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  3. Jacob Kuint
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  4. Iris Morag
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Correspondence to Orit Taubman – Ben-Ari.

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Porat-Zyman, G., Taubman – Ben-Ari, O., Kuint, J. et al. Personal Growth 4 Years After Premature Childbirth: The Role of Change in Maternal Mental Health. J Happiness Stud 20, 1739–1750 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-0012-1

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