Frequency of Postpartum Depression and Its Association with Psychosocialand Demographic Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study at a Public Tertiary CareCenter in Karachi

Abstract

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most widespread mental disorder that occurs in women following childbirth and is linked to poor maternal, infant and family outcomes. Despite the fact that the burden of PPD is especially high in low- and middle-income countries, there is still little evidence on the psychosocial and demographic determinants of PPD in Pakistan. The purpose of the study was to find out the prevalence of postpartum depression and to test the correlation between the psychosocial and demographic variables and postpartum depression in a postpartum woman who came to a public tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study done in a hospital among 267 postpartum women in Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi. The recruitment method was the consecutive purposive sampling and the participants were given a structured questionnaire in which they were required to fill in the details related to demographics, psychosocial variables, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The characteristic of the participants was summarized by descriptive statistics, and chi-square statistics, independent-samples t-tests, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the factors related to postpartum depression. A p-value of less than 0.05 was taken to be tatistically significant and statistical analyses were done using SPSS. Results: The mean age of participants was 29.53 ± 6.22 years, and the mean EPDS score was 15.06 ± 3.43. All in all, 256 (95.9%) women had positive result of screenings of post-partum depressive symptoms. However, the logistic regression analysis showed that maternal age (younger age), low perceived social support, and a history of mental illness were significant independent predictors of postpartum depression. Adjusted analyses did not find any significant differences in the level of education, marital status and employment or delivery complications as an indicator of postpartum depression. Conclusion: The occurrence of postpartum depressive symptoms was high among the postpartum women in this public tertiary care hospital. The young age, lack of social support and past psychiatric illness were found to be significant variables related to postpartum depression. These results illustrated the necessity of regular mental health assessment in the course of the postnatal care, early diagnosis of potential high-risk mothers, and inclusion of maternal mental health services in the existing obstetric and primary healthcare programs in Pakistan.

Keywords: Postpartum depression, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Maternal mental health, psychosocial factors, Demographic factors, Pakistan, Cross-sectional study.