Résumé

Objectif

Évaluer si la naissance d'un nouvel enfant a eu un effet sur la santé mentale des mères chinoises qui ont perdu un enfant pendant un tremblement de terre.

Méthodes

Une étude transversale sur des mères endeuillées a été menée 30 à 34 mois après le tremblement de terre au Sichuan de 2008, en faisant appel à des entretiens structurés individuels permettant d'évaluer les caractéristiques sociodémographiques, ainsi que les expériences et la santé mentale après la catastrophe. Ces entretiens comprenaient des mesures psychométriques normalisées de l'anxiété, de la dépression, des troubles de stress post-traumatique (TSPT) et du deuil compliqué (DC). Le soutien social a également été évalué. Un modèle ajusté tenant compte des facteurs perturbateurs potentiels a été utilisé pour étudier toute association entre les symptômes psychologiques et la naissance d'un nouvel enfant.

Résultats

La prévalence des symptômes psychologiques était supérieure chez les mères qui n'ont pas eu d'autre enfant après avoir perdu le premier. Dans un modèle ajusté, les symptômes d'anxiété (rapport des cotes, RC: 3,37; intervalle de confiance, IC de 95%: 1,51–7,50), de dépression (RC: 9,47; IC de 95%: 2,58–34,80), de TSPT (RC: 5,11; IC de 95%: 2,31–11,34) et de DC (RC: 10,73; IC de 95%: 1,88–61,39) étaient significativement plus élevés chez les 116 femmes qui n'ont pas eu un autre enfant que chez les 110 mères qui en ont eu un autre après le décès du premier. Plus des deux tiers des mères qui ont eu un nouvel enfant présentaient des symptômes psychologiques cliniquement importants.

Conclusion

Les femmes qui ont perdu leur enfant unique dans une catastrophe naturelle sont particulièrement vulnérables aux problèmes psychologiques à long terme, surtout si elles ont atteint un âge où il est difficile de concevoir. La recherche devrait se concentrer sur le développement et l'évaluation des interventions destinées à apporter aux femmes un soutien psychosocial et des services de santé génésique.

Resumen

Objetivo

Evaluar si tener un hijo posterior tuvo algún efecto en la salud mental de las madres chinas que perdieron a un hijo durante el terremoto.

Métodos

Se llevó a cabo un estudio transversal de madres en duelo entre 30 y 34 meses después del terremoto de Sichuan del año 2008, para lo que se realizaron entrevistas estructuradas de carácter individual con el fin de evaluar sus características sociodemográficas, sus experiencias tras el desastre y su salud mental. Las entrevistas incluyeron la medición psicométrica estandarizada de la ansiedad, la depresión, el trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) y el duelo complicado, y también se evaluó el apoyo social. Se empleó un modelo ajustado que tomaba en consideración posibles factores para examinar cualquier relación entre los síntomas psicológicos y el nacimiento del siguiente hijo.

Resultados

La prevalencia de los síntomas psicológicos fue mayor en las madres que no tuvieron otro hijo tras perder al primero. En un modelo ajustado, los síntomas de ansiedad (cociente de posibilidades, OR: 3,37; intervalo de confianza del 95%, IC: 1,51–7,50), depresión (OR: 9,47; IC del 95%: 2,58–34,80), TEPT (OR: 5,11; IC del 95%: 2,31–11,34) y duelo complicado (OR: 10,73; IC del 95%: 1,88–61,39) fueron notablemente superiores entre las 116 mujeres sin un hijo posterior que entre las 110 mujeres que habían tenido otro hijo tras el duelo. Más de dos terceras partes de las madres con bebés recientes presentaban síntomas psicológicos clínicamente relevantes.

Conclusión

Las mujeres que han perdido a un hijo único en un desastre natural son especialmente vulnerables a los problemas psicológicos a largo plazo, en particular cuando han alcanzado una edad en la que es difícil concebir de nuevo. La investigación debería centrarse en el desarrollo y la evaluación de intervenciones diseñadas para proporcionar a las mujeres apoyo psicológico y servicios de reproducción.

ملخص

الغرض

تقييم ما إذا كان لولادة طفل في وقت لاحق تأثير على الصحة النفسية للأمهات الصينيات اللاتي فقدن طفلاً خلال زلزال.

الطريقة

تم إجراء مسح متعدد القطاعات للأمهات الثكالى بعد زلزال سيشوان 2008 بفترة من 30 إلى 34 شهراً باستخدام مقابلات منظمة فردية لتقييم الخصائص الاجتماعية والديمغرافية وخبرات ما بعد الكارثة والصحة النفسية. وتضمنت المقابلات القياسات النفسية الموحدة للقلق والاكتئاب واضطراب الإجهاد اللاحق للصدمات (PTSD) والحزن المعقد (CG). كما تم كذلك تقييم الدعم الاجتماعي. وتم استخدام نموذج معدل مع الأخذ في الحسبان العوامل المؤثرة المحتملة لاستكشاف أي ارتباط بين الأعراض النفسية وولادة طفل في وقت لاحق.

النتائج

كان معدل انتشار الأعراض النفسية أعلى لدى الأمهات اللاتي لم تلدن طفلاً بعد فقدان الطفل الأول. وفي نموذج معدل، كانت أعراض القلق (نسبة الاحتمال: 3.37؛ فاصل الثقة 95 %: من 1.51 إلى 7.50) والاكتئاب (نسبة الاحتمال: 9.47؛ فاصل الثقة 95 %: من 2.58 إلى 34.80) واضطراب الإجهاد اللاحق للصدمات (نسبة الاحتمال: 5.11؛ فاصل الثقة 95 %: من 2.31 إلى 11.34) والحزن المعقد (نسبة الاحتمال: 10.73؛ فاصل الثقة 95 %: من 1.88 إلى 61.39) أعلى بدرجة كبيرة فيما بين النساء البالغ عددهن 116 سيدة اللاتي لم يلدن طفلاً في وقت لاحق عنه فيما بين الأمهات اللاتي ولدن طفلاً آخر بعد فقدان الطفل الأول. وقد أصيب ما يزيد عن ثلثي الأمهات اللاتي ولدن أطفالاً جدداً بأعراض نفسية مهمة سريرياً.

الاستنتاج

النساء اللاتي فقدن طفلهن الوحيد في كارثة طبيعية عرضة بالأخص للإصابة بمشكلات نفسية طويلة الأجل، لاسيما عند بلوغهن سناً يصعب فيه الحمل. وينبغي أن تركز الأبحاث على وضع التدخلات، المصممة لتقديم الدعم النفسي والخدمات الإنجابية إلى النساء، وتقييمها.

摘要

目的

评估再生育孩子对地震中失去孩子的中国母亲是否产生心理健康的影响。

方法

在2008年四川地震之后30至34个月使用单独结构化访谈对失去孩子的母亲进行横断面调查，评估社会人口特征、灾后体验和心理健康。面访结合了焦虑、抑郁、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和复杂性悲伤（CG）的标准化心理测量量度。对社会支持也进行了评估。使用考虑潜在混杂因素的调整后模型探讨心理症状和再生育之间的任何关联。

结果

在失去第一个孩子但是没有再生育的母亲中，心理症状发病率更高。在调整模型中，116名没有再生育的妇女焦虑（优势比，OR：3.37;95%置信区间，CI：1.51–7.50）、抑郁（OR：9.47;95% CI：2.58–34.80）、PTSD（OR：5.11;95% CI：2.31–11.34）和CG（OR：10.73;95% CI：1.88–61.39）的症状显著高于失去孩子之后又生育的110名妇女。超过三分之二新生育宝宝的妈妈具有临床上重要的心理症状。

结论

在自然灾害中失去独生子女的妇女尤其容易发生长期的心理问题，特别是已经达到难以再生育年龄的女性。研究应关注于制定和评估专门设计的干预措施，为女性提供心理支持和生育服务。

Резюме

Цель

Определить, оказало ли влияние рождение последующего ребенка на психическое здоровье китайских матерей, потерявших ребенка во время землетрясения.

Методы

Для оценки социально-демографических характеристик, состояния и психического здоровья женщин, потерявших ребенка в ходе стихийного бедствия, было проведено перекрестное исследование этих женщин на основе индивидуального систематизированного опроса по истечении 30–34 месяцев со дня землетрясения в провинции Сычуань в 2008 г. Опрос включал в себя стандартные психометрические характеристики для оценки уровня тревоги, депрессии, посттравматического стрессового расстройства (ПТСР) и осложненного горя (ОГ). Также оценивалась социальная поддержка. Для изучения связей между психологическими симптомами и рождением последующего ребенка использовалась скорректированная модель, учитывающая возможные дополнительные факторы.

Результаты

Распространенность психологических симптомов была выше у матерей, которые не завели второго ребенка после потери первого. В скорректированной модели симптомы тревоги (отношение рисков, ОР: 3,37; 95% доверительный интервал, ДИ: 1,51–7,50), депрессия (OР: 9,47; 95% ДИ: 2,58–34,80), ПТСР (OР: 5,11; 95% ДИ: 2,31–11,34) и ОГ (OР: 10,73; 95% ДИ: 1,88–61,39) были значительно выше у 116 женщин, не родивших последующего ребенка, чем у 110 матерей, которые завели после утраты еще одного ребенка. Более чем у двух третей матерей, родивших последующего ребенка, имелись клинически важные психологические симптомы.

Вывод

Женщины, потерявшие единственного ребенка в результате стихийного бедствия, особенно подвержены долговременным психологическим проблемам, особенно если они достигли возраста, когда зачатие становится проблематичным. Исследования должны быть сосредоточены на разработке и оценке мер, направленных на предоставление женщинам психологической поддержки и услуг по охране репродуктивного здоровья.

Introduction

In most natural disasters, one third to one half of the casualties are children.¹1 World Health Organization [Internet]. Disaster risk management for health: child health. Geneva: WHO; 2011. Available from: http://www.who.int/hac/events/drm_fact_sheet_child_health.pdf [accessed 14 February 2014].
http://www.who.int/hac/events/drm_fact_s... Direct exposure to natural disasters and the loss of a child are extremely stressful life events with long-term health consequences. Among these, increased vulnerability to psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complicated grief (CG) are specially common.²2 Xu Y, Herrman H, Tsutsumi A, Fisher J. Psychological and social consequences of losing a child in a natural or human-made disaster: A review of the evidence. Asia Pac Psychiatry 2013;5:237–48. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/appy.12013 PMID:23857912
https://doi.org/10.1111/appy.12013... Parents who have lost young or adolescent children are at higher risk for mental disorders than those who have lost adult children.³3 Chan CLW, Wang CW, Ho AHY, Qu Z-Y, Wang X-Y, Ran M-S et al. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among bereaved and non-bereaved survivors following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. J Anxiety Disord 2012;26:673–9. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.05.002 PMID:22721751
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.0... ^,44 Johannesson KB, Lundin T, Hultman CM, Fröjd T, Michel PO. Prolonged grief among traumatically bereaved relatives exposed and not exposed to a tsunami. J Trauma Stress 2011;24:456–64. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jts.20668 PMID:21818785
https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20668... Furthermore, bereaved mothers appear to be more vulnerable to psychological illness than bereaved fathers.⁵5 Singh B, Raphael B. Postdisaster morbidity of the bereaved. A possible role for preventive psychiatry? J Nerv Ment Dis 1981;169:203–12. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00005053-198104000-00001 PMID:7217925
https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-1981040...

Several factors influencing emotional recovery from the loss of a child after a disaster have been identified. First, professional support, including a structured psychological intervention, appears to be effective in reducing psychological morbidity²2 Xu Y, Herrman H, Tsutsumi A, Fisher J. Psychological and social consequences of losing a child in a natural or human-made disaster: A review of the evidence. Asia Pac Psychiatry 2013;5:237–48. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/appy.12013 PMID:23857912
https://doi.org/10.1111/appy.12013... and can improve physical and psychological health and social adjustment after traumatic experiences.⁶6 Laakso H, Paunonen-Ilmonen M. Mothers’ experience of social support following the death of a child. J Clin Nurs 2002;11:176–85. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2702.2002.00611.x PMID:11903717
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2702.2002... ^–88 Yuan Y, Mao WJ, Yang DH, Ran MS, Kong D, Zhang T et al. Comparison of PTSD symptoms, depression and anxiety between bereaved and non-bereaved survivors after the Wenchuan earthquake. Chin J Behav Med Brain Sci 2009;18:1109–11.Chinese doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3760/cma.j.issn.1674-6554.2009.12.018
https://doi.org/10.3760/cma.j.issn.1674-... Second, social support from spouses or one’s parents, friends and colleagues is also linked to better post-disaster mental health status among bereaved parents.²2 Xu Y, Herrman H, Tsutsumi A, Fisher J. Psychological and social consequences of losing a child in a natural or human-made disaster: A review of the evidence. Asia Pac Psychiatry 2013;5:237–48. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/appy.12013 PMID:23857912
https://doi.org/10.1111/appy.12013... ^,66 Laakso H, Paunonen-Ilmonen M. Mothers’ experience of social support following the death of a child. J Clin Nurs 2002;11:176–85. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2702.2002.00611.x PMID:11903717
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2702.2002... Third, whether or not parents viewed their child’s body appears to influence recovery. According to the limited amount of available research, parents who viewed their children’s bodies recovered better than those who did not on account of the loss or disfigurement of the body.⁵5 Singh B, Raphael B. Postdisaster morbidity of the bereaved. A possible role for preventive psychiatry? J Nerv Ment Dis 1981;169:203–12. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00005053-198104000-00001 PMID:7217925
https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-1981040... ^,77 Levin BG. Coping with traumatic loss: an interview with the parents of TWA 800 crash victims and implications for disaster mental health professionals. Int J Emerg Ment Health 2004;6:25–31. PMID:15132000^,99 Middleton W, Raphael B, Burnett P, Martinek N. A longitudinal study comparing bereavement phenomena in recently bereaved spouses, adult children and parents. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 1998;32:235–41. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00048679809062734 PMID:9588303
https://doi.org/10.3109/0004867980906273... Finally, parents who lost a child but who have at least one surviving child have lower mortality rates¹⁰10 Li J, Precht DH, Mortensen PB, Olsen J. Mortality in parents after death of a child in Denmark: a nationwide follow-up study. Lancet 2003;361:363–7. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)12387-2 PMID:12573371
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)12... and a lower prevalence of psychiatric illness than those who have lost an only child.¹¹11 Barrera M, D’Agostino NM, Schneiderman G, Tallett S, Spencer L, Jovcevska V. Patterns of parental bereavement following the loss of a child and related factors. Omega (Westport) 2007;55:145–67.^–1313 Woodgate RL. Living in a world without closure: reality for parents who have experienced the death of a child. J Palliat Care 2006;22:75–82. PMID:17265659

Some experts have postulated that having a new baby might favourably influence parents’ psychological well-being after losing a child. In some cases, having another child has been positively associated with decreased rates of depression in bereaved parents;¹⁴14 Videka-Sherman L. Coping with the death of a child: a study over time. Am J Orthopsychiatry 1982;52:688–98. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982.tb01458.x PMID:7148990
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982... in others this has not been the case. In an 18-year study of parents who had lost one of their children, no significant association was found between having a subsequent child and recovery from grief or depression.¹⁵15 Rogers CH, Floyd FJ, Seltzer MM, Greenberg J, Hong J. Long-term effects of the death of a child on parents’ adjustment in midlife. J Fam Psychol 2008;22:203–11. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.22.2.203 PMID:18410207
https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.22.2.2... There are currently no systematic population-based studies investigating the psychological effect of having a subsequent baby after losing a child in a natural disaster.

The aim of this study was to compare the psychological state of women who had and had not given birth to a baby after losing a child in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China. Most of the children who died were only children, since China has a one-child policy.¹⁶16 Focus news 163 [Internet]. [Image record of bereaved mothers from the Wenchuan earthquake 2010. Hangzhou: NetEase; c1997-2014]. Chinese. Available from: http://focus.news.163.com/10/0420/11/64N92S2200011SM9.html [accessed 5 February 2014].
http://focus.news.163.com/10/0420/11/64N... Three months after the earthquake, the National Health and Family Planning Commission announced the establishment of reproductive health services to help bereaved families to have a subsequent child. The services included free psychological counselling, fertility assessment, cessation of long-term contraception, recanalization surgery, treatment of reproductive tract infections and treatment of infertility with assisted reproductive technologies.¹⁷17 The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China [Internet]. Accelerating the speed of post-disaster reconstructions in Sichuan, improving the services on post-disaster family planning 2009. Beijing: The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China; 2014. Available from: http://www.gov.cn/gzdt/2009-05/26/content_1324807.htm [accessed 17 February 2014]. Chinese.
http://www.gov.cn/gzdt/2009-05/26/conten...

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in Dujiangyan, China, 29 to 34 months after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Data were collected from October 2010 to March 2011. Dujiangyan is a city in the province of Sichuan. It is situated 50 kilometres south-west of Wenchuan, the epicentre of the earthquake, which killed nearly 1000 children in Dujiangyan. The project was conducted in collaboration with the Dujiangyan Family Planning and Human Development Bureau (hereafter the Bureau), which provided a list of women who had lost a child in the earthquake in Dujiangyan.

Conceptual model and design

Since the determinants of psychological health are known to be multifactorial, we tested a conceptual model that took into account the potential confounding effects of age, educational level, employment status, psychological treatment, social support and whether or not the body of the deceased child had been viewed. (Fig. 1).

Participants and sample

Adult women of reproductive age living in Dujiangyan who had been exposed directly to the earthquake and had lost a child 18 years of age or younger in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake were eligible for participation. Women were excluded if they were unable to read or speak Chinese and if their new child was under 6 months of age. To detect a difference of 20% between groups at a significance level of 0.05 and a power of 0.80 (two-sided statistical significance test), at least 93 participants were required in each group (a total sample of 186 women).

Procedure

The Bureau sent invitation letters with response forms to each woman meeting the inclusion criteria. On the response form, women were invited to endorse one of three choices: (i) interest in participation; (ii) no interest in participation; (iii) a request for further information about the study. Women who asked for more information about the study were contacted by the Bureau. Women who had not returned the response form three weeks after it was mailed were contacted by telephone once to ask whether they had received the letter or whether they wanted more information.

Data were collected during individual structured face-to-face interviews by a native Chinese-speaking female medical graduate. Interviews lasted up to 90 minutes, either at the research office or the participant’s home. No formal psychiatric diagnoses were made, since the interviewer was not a trained mental health clinician.

Data sources

The structured interview schedule included study-specific questions and standardized measures of psychological well-being in three sections: (i) sociodemographic information (age, education, employment and marital status); (ii) post-disaster experiences (whether or not the child’s body had been viewed, whether or not a psychological intervention or social support had been received); and (iii) mental health (anxiety, depression, PTSD and CG).

Five widely used standardized scales were incorporated, including four for the mental health outcomes and one appraising social support (Table 1).¹⁸18 Zung WWK. A rating instrument for anxiety disorders. Psychosomatics 1971;12:371–9. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0033-3182(71)71479-0 PMID:5172928
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https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(96)000... ^,2424 Prigerson HG, Maciejewski PK, Reynolds CF 3rd, Bierhals AJ, Newsom JT, Fasiczka A et al. Inventory of Complicated Grief: a scale to measure maladaptive symptoms of loss. Psychiatry Res 1995;59:65–79. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(95)02757-2 PMID:8771222
https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(95)027... ^,2727 Zimet GD, Dahlem NW, Zimet SG, Farley GK. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. J Pers Assess 1988;52:30–41. PMID:2280326 All scales, translated from English into Chinese, have been used in China and have shown high internal consistency (Table 1).¹⁹19 Tao M, Gao JF. Reliability and validity of Zung’s Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Chin J Nerv Ment Dis 1994;5:301–3.^,2121 Zhang J, Wu ZY, Fang G, Li J, Han BX, Chen ZY. Development of the Chinese Age Norms of CES-D in Urban Area. Chin Ment Health J 2010;2:139–43.^,2323 Li H, Wang L, Shi Z, Zhang Y, Wu K, Liu P. Diagnostic utility of the PTSD Checklist in detecting PTSD in Chinese earthquake victims. Psychol Rep 2010;107:733–9. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/03.15.20.PR0.107.6.733-739 PMID:21323132
https://doi.org/10.2466/03.15.20.PR0.107... ^,2525 Chiu YW, Huang CT, Yin SM, Huang YC, Chien CH, Chuang HY. Determinants of complicated grief in caregivers who cared for terminal cancer patients. Support Care Cancer 2010;18:1321–7. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00520-009-0756-6 PMID:19816716
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https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(99)00...

Data management and analysis

All data analyses were conducted in Stata 11.0 for Mac (StataCorp. LP, College Station, United States of America). Descriptive statistics comparing sociodemographic characteristics, post-disaster experiences and social and professional supports for the groups with and without a subsequent child were calculated and statistically significant differences between the two groups were estimated by using the χ² test. Logistic regression was used to investigate the association between the presence or absence of a subsequent child (with the presence of a subsequent child as the reference category) and mental health. Confounder selection was based on our evidence-informed, theoretical conceptual model (Fig. 1).

Ethics

Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the University of Melbourne’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC No.1033862) and the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Chengdu Fourth People’s Hospital (Sichuan, China).

Results

Overall, 509 (81.4%) of the 625 eligible women returned the response forms. Of these women, 415 agreed to participate and 94 refused. In total, 18 women (12 with a subsequent child) were not able to complete the interviews. Four chose to complete the interview in two or three stages but were too busy to return to finish it; five found it too difficult to answer the questions in the mental health section; nine could not answer questions about the quality of support because their husband or another relative remained in the room during the interview. In total, 110 bereaved women with a subsequent child and 116 without a subsequent child provided complete data (Fig. 2).

Sociodemographic characteristics

Most participants were married, performed unpaid household or voluntary work and had lived in Dujiangyan for at least 10 years. All except one woman had lost an only child. Except for age, the sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups did not differ significantly (Table 2). Although the mean difference was only one year, women without a subsequent child were significantly older than those with a subsequent child.

Post-disaster experiences

No significant difference was found between the two groups of women in terms of having viewed or not viewed the bodies of their deceased children (Table 2). However, the two groups did differ significantly in both the professional and the social support they had received since the earthquake. A substantially higher proportion of women without a subsequent child had received a psychological intervention (Table 2), but a significantly lower proportion had received social support from family members and friends (Table 3).

Mental health status

Overall, more than 80% of the participants had clinically significant symptoms of at least one psychological condition. Depression, PTSD and CG were more common than anxiety. Women who had not given birth to a subsequent child were consistently found to have higher symptom scores and higher odds of being symptomatic than those who had given birth to another child. A substantially higher proportion of women without a subsequent child had clinically significant symptoms of all four of the mental conditions examined in this paper than those with another child. In particular, over 90% of women without a subsequent child had clinically significant symptoms of depression or CG (Table 4).

Table 5 shows the association between mental health and the presence or absence of a subsequent child in unadjusted and adjusted models. Mothers who had not given birth to a new child had significantly higher odds of having psychological symptoms than those who had. The largest difference between the two groups was found with respect to CG symptoms. Women who did not have a subsequent child had more than 10 times the odds of having such symptoms than women who had given birth to another child (P = 0.008).

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first population-based systematic investigation of the effect of having or not having a subsequent child on the long-term psychological health of women who have lost a child in a natural disaster. By exploring the effects of confounding factors identified in previous research²2 Xu Y, Herrman H, Tsutsumi A, Fisher J. Psychological and social consequences of losing a child in a natural or human-made disaster: A review of the evidence. Asia Pac Psychiatry 2013;5:237–48. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/appy.12013 PMID:23857912
https://doi.org/10.1111/appy.12013... as potential determinants of the long-term mental health of women in this situation, we were able to estimate the association between having a subsequent child after losing one in a natural disaster and recovery after bereavement. These data suggest that, for women who have lost their only child, the birth of a subsequent child is associated with milder psychological morbidity, especially depression and prolonged grief disorder.

We acknowledge that this study has limitations. First, this was a cross-sectional survey and cause and effect associations cannot be inferred from the findings. Therefore, we cannot conclude that having another child after losing one in a disaster will help women to recover psychologically. Second, we were unable to control for other types of traumatic events caused by the earthquake, such as losing one’s parents, house or livelihood, so separating their effects on mental health from those of the loss of a child was not possible. However, the modest resources we had for this project led us to focus on comparing mental health status in women who had and had not given birth to a new child after the earthquake. Finally, all the psychometric instruments we used are based on self-reporting and yield scores that are indicative of clinically significant symptoms but are not diagnostic. Although these instruments have been widely used in China²⁹29 Yao SQ. Psychological instruments. In: Jiang QJ, editors. Medical psychology. Beijing: People’s Medical Publishing House; 2005. pp. 108–29. Chinese., none has been formally validated against a gold standard and no local sensitivity and specificity data have been generated. All these three factors could have resulted in an over or underestimation of the association between having a subsequent child and women’s mental health. However, since ours was a systematically recruited population-based sample, we have no reason to believe that the prevalence of these conditions was higher in the sample than in the general population. In fact, a previous study has shown that seven to eight months after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, 80% of bereaved parents had clinically significant symptoms of PTSD and 81.8% had symptoms of depression.³3 Chan CLW, Wang CW, Ho AHY, Qu Z-Y, Wang X-Y, Ran M-S et al. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among bereaved and non-bereaved survivors following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. J Anxiety Disord 2012;26:673–9. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.05.002 PMID:22721751
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.0... These data are consistent with our findings.

Curiously, women without a subsequent child had more severe psychological problems, on average, than women who went on to have another child, even though more women in the former group had received psychological treatment. This finding is in contrast to the results of a study by Li et al., whereby bereaved parents who had been exposed to professional psychological intervention were found to have better mental health status than those who had not.¹²12 Li J, Laursen TM, Precht DH, Olsen J, Mortensen PB. Hospitalization for mental illness among parents after the death of a child. N Engl J Med 2005;352:1190–6. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa033160 PMID:15788495
https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa033160... One possible explanation lies in the type of intervention received, which we were unable to ascertain. It may have been ineffective because of its content or because it was not long enough. However, it is also possible that women who longed to conceive another child were too distressed over this to find relief in mental health interventions. The Chinese central government changed the family planning policy immediately after the earthquake, particularly for women who had lost a child, and provided free comprehensive reproductive health services to couples wanting to conceive. This departure from the one-child policy appears to have benefited many couples but may have failed to meet the reproductive needs of women whose age made it difficult to conceive, even with assisted reproductive technologies. Furthermore, in China bloodlines are centrally important when it comes to maintaining cultural traditions. Families without a child are viewed as incomplete and unfortunate. In China’s male-dominated culture, women are often blamed for the couple’s infertility. Because all but one of the deceased children in this study were only children, their mothers may have felt pressured by their families to give birth to another child. Women who did not have another child may have experienced greater pressure than other women.

This study suggests that women who have decreased fertility by virtue of their age and who have lost their only child in a natural disaster are especially vulnerable to long-term psychological problems. It is clear that much more evidence is required in this relatively under-researched field. Future research should focus on the development and systematic evaluation of interventions designed to assist families in the circumstances described. Social and family support is clearly important to women’s post-disaster recovery.²2 Xu Y, Herrman H, Tsutsumi A, Fisher J. Psychological and social consequences of losing a child in a natural or human-made disaster: A review of the evidence. Asia Pac Psychiatry 2013;5:237–48. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/appy.12013 PMID:23857912
https://doi.org/10.1111/appy.12013... The data presented here indicate that communities need guidance on how to strengthen social support activities, in addition to mental health care.

Although women who had another child had lower odds of experiencing psychological symptoms, at least two out of three such women had clinically important symptoms of depression and CG. Thus, most of the children born to women in this category were being cared for by mothers with poor mental health. Research on the development of children born in these circumstances is needed. The data suggest that in bereaved women who are pregnant or have recently given birth to another child, perinatal mental health care is essential to reduce psychological morbidity, strengthen the mother–infant relationship and facilitate optimal infant development.

Acknowledgements

We thank the Dujiangyan Family Planning and Human Development Bureau and the Dujiangyan Mental Health Centre in Sichuan Province, China, for their valuable support. We also thank the participants who shared their experiences.

References

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