Prevalence of postpartum depression and its psychosocial factors in district Bathinda

Abstract

Objectives: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious public health problem that leads to maternal morbidity and mortality, enormously affecting the infant, family, and society. The present study was conducted with the objectives of studying the prevalence of PPD among women in the postpartum period and to find the association between PPD and its psychosocial predictors in District Bathinda, Punjab, India. Material and Methods: The community based cross-sectional study was conducted among the women in postpartum period of urban and rural field practice area of Adesh Institute of Medical Science and Research, Bathinda. A total of 185 participants were enrolled. Pre-designed questionnaire and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale were the instruments used for capturing sociodemographic data and PPD respectively. Frequencies, percentages and means were used to express the outcomes. Association between predictable and outcome variables was established using Chi-square test. Results: Among 185 participating women, 22.2% were found to have PPD. Age, obstetric history, sex of child, desire for male child, support from husband, and support from in-laws were found to be statistically associated with PPD. However, education of the participants and their husbands, urban/rural region, family type, socioeconomic status, and place of delivery were found to be not associated. Conclusion: Prevalence of 22.2% of PPD was reported and found to be associated factors like age, obstetric history, sex of child, desire for male child, husband and in-laws support.