Introduction: Post-partum depression is a common complication in women after childbirth. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among post-partum mothers attending Gynecological/Obstetric ward in Janaki Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Dhanusha, Nepal.
Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 330 post-partum mothers after delivery to 12 weeks using systematic random sampling. Mothers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to screen for depressive symptoms. Chi-square test analysis was used to determine the association of post-partum depressive symptoms with socio-demographic, obstetric and psycho-social factors.
Result and Discussion: The prevalence of post-partum depressive symptoms among mothers was 15.2%. The factors significantly associated with post-natal depression were ethnicity, age at marriage, number of children, sex of the baby, planned or unplanned pregnancy, infant health problems, family history of depression, unhappy with in-laws, absence of husband during pregnancy, smoking habit of husband and drinking habit of the husband.
Conclusions: About one-fifth of post-partum mothers have depressive symptoms. Obstetric and psychosocial factors were more associated with occurrence of PPD symptoms.
Key words: EPDS, Depressive symptoms, Postpartum depression, Obstetric factors, Psychosocial factors, Ethnicity
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