Abstract (eng)
In the last decades, lots of studies concentrated on the research of postnatal depression in women and its development. Concerning the significance of aspects based on partnership, most of the studies, however, were restricted on the aspects of general contentment in a relationship and the support of society, resulting in the assumption that less content women or women with less support in a relationship or partnership suffer from a higher risk to develop postnatal depression. The aim of this study was to qualitatively determinate aspects of a relationship, which could play a role relating to postnatal depression and to identify changes resulting from birth or the development of postnatal depression in the relevant characteristics. For this purpose, three women with postnatal depression and their partners were interviewed about their mutual relationship structure and experience; these single-case analyses and descriptions were compared. For the clarification of the postnatal depression, the Edinburgh-Postnatal-Depression-Scale was shown to these women.
The results do not reach a consensus easily. The interviewed pairs of women show very different dynamics and patterns. The partners of the women show very similar reflections of their relationship structure. Changes can be identified as well in relation to the closeness in a relationship concerning physical and verbal tenderness as in the autonomy and independence of an individual person. The results of previous studies associated with general satisfaction in a partnership and support of the partner could not be confirmed. Further studies should be performed in a more extensive study, as the results of this study are not generalizable because of the low representative nature. The question of cause and effect of the analysed factors could be investigated through longitudinal design.