Essential Site Maintenance: Authorea-powered sites will be updated circa 15:00-17:00 Eastern on Tuesday 5 November.
There should be no interruption to normal services, but please contact us at [email protected] in case you face any issues.

loading page

Development of Social Life Impact for Mother (SLIM) scale at first trimester to identify mothers who need social support during postpartum: a hospital-based prospective study in Japan
  • +5
  • Yoko Okamoto,
  • Satomi Doi,
  • Aya Isumi,
  • Junichi Sugawara,
  • Kazuhisa Maeda,
  • Shoji Satoh,
  • Takeo Fujiwara,
  • Mitsuda Nobuaki
Yoko Okamoto
Osaka Women's and Children's Hospital
Author Profile
Satomi Doi
Tokyo Medical and Dental University
Author Profile
Aya Isumi
Tokyo Medical and Dental University
Author Profile
Junichi Sugawara
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University
Author Profile
Kazuhisa Maeda
Shikoku Medical Center for Children and Adults
Author Profile
Shoji Satoh
Oita Prefectural Hospital
Author Profile
Takeo Fujiwara
Tokyo Medical and Dental University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Mitsuda Nobuaki
Osaka Women's and Children's Hospital
Author Profile

Abstract

Objective: Postpartum social problems, such as postpartum depression and bonding disorders, are important risk factors for child maltreatment. Mothers with such problems are known to need social support. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Social Life Impact for Mother (SLIM) scale to identify mothers in Japan who need social support during postpartum. Design: A hospital-based prospective study. Setting: Obstetric clinics and hospitals in four populous prefectures in Japan. Sample: A total of 7462 pregnant women. Methods: The participants completed the SLIM scale at first trimester, and postpartum social problems (postpartum depression and bonding disorders) were assessed at one month after delivery (N=5768, follow-up rate: 77.3%). Multivariate logistic regression was applied to investigate the association between the SLIM scale and postpartum social problems. Main outcome measures: Postpartum social problems (postpartum depression and bonding disorders) at one month after delivery. Results: The SLIM scale predicted postpartum social problems in moderate accuracy (AUC=0.63, 95% confidence interval: 0.60-0.65). Further stratification by local clinic and tertiary hospital did not affect the estimates. Conclusion: The SLIM scale at prenatal checkup may be useful for obstetricians to detect mothers with postpartum social problems. Further intervention study using SLIM score is warranted.