Publication:

Prevalence of postpartum depression in a tertiary care centre

Background Postpartum depression (PPD) is characterized as a depressed episode that transpires during pregnancy or within four weeks following childbirth. Diagnosing postpartum depression is essential, since it can hinder normal maternal-infant attachment and adversely affect both the short-term and long-term development of children.  Hence this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of postpartum depression in a tertiary care centre.

Methods A prospective observational study was performed at a tertiary health care center for a period of 6 months. A total of 150 post-natal mothers were included in this study. After getting informed written consent, post-natal mothers were evaluated with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 24-48 hours and at 4 weeks postpartum.  The threshold score for identifying severe depression is 13 or higher. All the data’s recorded are entered in Microsoft Excel and analysed using SPSS version 21.0.

Results The study comprised 150 women, of which 24 exhibited postpartum depression.  The prevalence of postpartum depression in this study cohort is 16%. It was found that socio-demographic characteristics such as age and occupation together with social variables like pressure to have a male child, and obstetric factors including age at marriage and mode of delivery, were significant predictors of postpartum depression.

Conclusions This study observed a 16% prevalence of postpartum depression among postnatal mothers. With the increasing trend in the prevalence of depression, it is essential to incorporate screening for postpartum depression in all women.