Abstract

Introduction: Postpartum depression is a serious but treatable medical disease and is a neglected area of maternal healthcare in developing countries. It is essential to identify and treat PPD because it has a negative affect on both maternal parenting ability and infant cognition. It affects 15% of women around childbirth [1]. Associated factors need to be identified if it has to be prevented on time. The onset of depression during postpartum period is very important and considered as a major public health problem affecting mothers, fathers, childrens and the whole family.This study aims to identify associated factors of PPD and its prevalence.

Objectives: To study the prevalence of women at risk for PPD using EPDS score in the tertiary teaching hospital in Nepal, Kathmandu and to study the associated risk factors.

Methodology: This study was conducted from 23 Jan 2019 to 22 April 2019 after obtaining ethical clearence from the Institutional Review Committee of the Nepalese Army Institute of Health sciences(Dec2018).Total of 100 women were interviewed using a structural questionnaire. EPDS scoring was done using a Nepali translated version. Data analysed using SPSS 21 version.

Results: Overall prevelance of depressive symptoms in postnatal women (Defined as EPDS≥13) was 17%. In this study socio-demographic variable are not statistically significant in relation to postnatal depression. As per univariate analysis (Chi- square test) postpartum depression is significantly associated with number of miscarriages(p- value 0.035).

Conclusion: Postpartum depression is highly prevalent among Nepalese women.It is recommended to screen women at high risk to ensure appropriate clinical outcomes and for proper intervention. Early detection of symptoms can facilitate timely treatment, referral to appropriate mental health providers, and prevention of major depression.

Keywords: Associated Factors; Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale; Postpartum Depression; Prevalence, Tertiary Hospital

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Citation

Citation: Arju Chand Singh., et al. “Prevalence and Associated Factors in Postpartum Depression at Tertiary Hospital in Nepal”.Acta Scientific Women's Health 2.1 (2020): 23-28.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Arju Chand Singh., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.