Publication:

Effect of supportive therapy on the incidence of post-partum depression

Background Postpartum non-psychotic depression (PND) is the most common complication of childbirth with approximately 10-42% prevalence across the globe. Especially in rural south Indian population, fear of stigma, superstitions, poverty and poor medical access by the pregnant women leads to a large number of un-diagnosed and poorly treated cases of post-partum depression. Objective of study was to study the effect of Supportive therapy on the incidence of post-partum depression in women attending the Obstetrics Department of SDUMC, Kolar using the Edinburgh Depression Rating Scale and to compare the findings with that with a control population.

Methods 200 ladies in their second trimester of pregnancy were taken up for the study; 100 out of these were psycho-educated about the risks and signs of Post-partum depression and subjected to supportive therapy sessions. On the 5th day after their delivery, they were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The other 100 patients (control group) were directly interviewed using the EPDS on day 5 post-partum.

Results The overall depression among treatment group (17 %) is significantly lower when compared to the control group (41 %). The Mean depression score of treatment group (5.41) was significantly lower when compared to control group (8.65) which is statistically significant. Amongst the treatment group, marital status, occupation, education and bad obstetric history were found to have a significant influence on depression.

Conclusions The overall depression among treatment group (17 %) is significantly lower when compared to the control group (41 %). The Mean depression score of treatment group (5.41) was significantly lower when compared to control group (8.65) which is statistically significant. Amongst the treatment group, marital status, occupation, education and bad obstetric history were found to have a significant influence on depression.