Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34321040›Full record

SynthesisReproductive health2021

The relationship between social support and mental health problems during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Asres Bedaso, Jon Adams, Wenbo Peng, David Sibbritt

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Reproductive health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 274 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
274citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

274 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  5. Experiences of intimate partner violence among female cancer patients: a meta-synthesis of qualitative research.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
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214 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Asres BedasoCollege of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Nursing, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia. asresbedaso@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7859-0264
Jon AdamsAustralian Centre for Public and Population Health Research, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
Wenbo PengAustralian Centre for Public and Population Health Research, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
David SibbrittAustralian Centre for Public and Population Health Research, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPregnancy is a time of profound physical and emotional change as well as an increased risk of mental illness. While strengthening social support is a common recommendation to reduce such mental health risk, no systematic review or meta-analysis has yet examined the relationship between social support and mental problems during pregnancy.

methodsThe PRISMA checklist was used as a guide to systematically review relevant peer-reviewed literature reporting primary data analyses. PubMed, Psych Info, MIDIRS, SCOPUS, and CINAHL database searches were conducted to retrieve research articles published between the years 2000 to 2019. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale tool was used for quality appraisal and the meta-analysis was conducted using STATA. The Q and the I

resultFrom the identified 3760 articles, 67 articles with 64,449 pregnant women were part of the current systematic review and meta-analysis. From the total 67 articles, 22 and 45 articles included in the narrative analysis and meta-analysis, respectively. From the total articles included in the narrative analysis, 20 articles reported a significant relationship between low social support and the risk of developing mental health problems (i.e. depression, anxiety, and self-harm) during pregnancy. After adjusting for publication bias, based on the results of the random-effect model, the pooled odds ratio (POR) of low social support was AOR: 1.18 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.41) for studies examining the relationship between low social support and antenatal depression and AOR: 1.97 (95% CI: 1.34, 2.92) for studies examining the relationship between low social support and antenatal anxiety.

conclusionLow social support shows significant associations with the risk of depression, anxiety, and self-harm during pregnancy. Policy-makers and those working on maternity care should consider the development of targeted social support programs with a view to helping reduce mental health problems amongst pregnant women.

Indexed as

Maternal Health ServicesMental HealthAnxietyFemaleHumansPregnancyPregnant PeopleSocial SupportAnxietyDepressionMental illnessMeta-analysisPregnancySelf-harmSocial supportSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID34321040
PMCPMC8320195

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.