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Disease Epidemiology / Clinical Course / Other

Poster Session C

(C-034) Psychological effects of preterm birth on mothers: A scoping review

Tuesday, August 26, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Ganesh Handady, M.Sc. (Master of Science)

    Research Scholar
    Department of Pediatrics, Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, Manipal, 576 104, India
    Mangalore, Karnataka, India

    • Co-Author(s)

  • SS

    Suchetha S Rao

    Professor and Head
    Department of Pediatrics, Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, Manipal, 576 104, India
    Mangalore, Karnataka, India

  • KP

    Keshava Pai K

    Professor and Head
    Department of Psychiatry, Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, Manipal, 576 104, India
    Mangalore, Karnataka, India

  • EA

    Elstin Anbu Raj S

    Centre for Evidence-informed Decision-making, Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, Manipal, 576104, India
    Manipal, Karnataka, India

  • SS

    Shraddha Shetty K

    Professor and Head
    Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, Manipal, 576 104, India
    Mangalore, Karnataka, India

  • PM

    Prasanna Mithra P

    Additional Professor
    Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, Manipal, 576 104, India
    Mangalore, Karnataka, India

  • SR

    Santosh Rai

    Professor and Head
    Department of Radiodiagnosis & Imaging, Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, Manipal, 576 104, India
    Mangalore, Karnataka, India

Background: One in five new mothers might experience postpartum depression and anxiety based on relevant stressors and social circumstances. These factors are more likely to be present in the case of preterm births. It is crucial to pay attention to mother’s psychological discomfort after preterm birth.

Objectives: To identify the psychological effects of preterm birth on mothers.

Methods: A comprehensive search was carried out using three electronic databases, that is, PubMed, Embase, and Scopus, to identify possible studies exploring the psychological effects of preterm birth on mothers. The search string used was ((preterm birth) AND (psychological effects) AND (mothers) created using Medical Subject Heading Library (MeSH) browser. Rayyan software was used to screen the articles from the search results. The data was extracted using predesigned excel form and the finding s were summarized using a narrative approach.

Results: A total of 21 studies were included. In these studies, the common psychological effects were posttraumatic stress, postpartum depression, distress, anxiety, depression, stress, and NICU stressors. The screening tools used to assess different psychological effects were compared. The common predictor for the psychological effect was the low gestational age of the infant.

Conclusions: This current literature concludes that the screening for mothers with preterm infants becomes crucial and early intervention is required in the healthcare setting when the infant is in the NICU.