Mental Health Outcomes of Mothers of Children With Congenital Gastrointestinal Anomalies Are Similar to Control Mothers: A Longitudinal Retrospective Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: Mothers of infants born with congenital gastrointestinal surgical anomalies experience a unique caregiving role. Whether these challenges result in more mental health diagnoses than the general population is unknown. This study assessed mental health diagnoses in mothers of children born with congenital surgical anomalies (CSA) compared to mothers of children without CSA.

METHODS

A total of 780 mothers of children with CSA (case-mothers) and 6994 control-mothers were included. Mental health diagnoses were obtained using International Classification of Diseases 9 codes from an administrative database. Multivariate hazard ratios (HR) of mental health diagnoses were determined for mothers following childbirth, controlling for socioeconomic status, mental health diagnoses prior to childbirth, and age at childbirth. Subgroup analyses were completed for anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The association between a woman's mental health history and becoming a case-mother was analyzed using risk ratios (RR).

RESULTS

Case-mothers were not at increased risk of mental health disorders compared to controls (HR = 1.00; CI95 = 0.92-1.09). In aggregate analysis, no increased risk of anxiety, depression, or PTSD was found. Subgroup analyses revealed that congenital diaphragmatic hernia case-mothers had an increased risk of depression (HR = 1.43; CI95 = 1.08-1.88). No other case-mothers were at increased risk of mental health diagnoses, anxiety, depression, or PTSD. Only omphalocele was associated with mental health diagnoses before childbirth (RR = 1.89; CI95 = 1.58-2.26).

CONCLUSIONS

Collectively, mothers of children with CSAs did not have a greater risk of a mental health disorder, anxiety, depression, or PTSD compared to control-mothers. Only mothers of children with congenital diaphragmatic hernia had an increased risk of depression.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.