Characteristics of Jordanian depressed pregnant women: a comparison study

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the differences between Jordanian depressed women and non-depressed women in terms of their sociodemographic characteristics during their pregnancy. A convenience sample of 218 Jordanian pregnant women in their third trimester was selected for this study from three major Governorates in Jordan (Amman, Irbid and Zarqa), and the antenatal clinics of teaching hospitals (Jordan University Hospital and King Abdullah University Hospital) were accessed to collect the data. A demographical sheet and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were used to collect data. There was a significant difference in EPDS scores between smokers and non-smokers, primiparous and multiparous women, and also between women with secondary or lower education and those with diploma or higher education. Higher EPDS scores were classified as a ≥13 and lower EPDS scores as <13. However, there were no significant differences in the age, income and sleeping hours for women with higher EPDS scores compared with those with lower EPDS scores. This study showed that there are differences between pregnant women who had depression symptoms and pregnant women who did not have depression symptoms in relation to some sociodemographic variables (smoking status, education level and parity).

Keywords: EPDS; Jordanian women; antenatal depression; depression; maternal health; pregnancy.