Postpartum depression burden and associated factors in mothers of infants at an urban primary health center in Delhi, India

Abstract

Objective: Postpartum depression is a nonpsychotic mental health condition that impairs both the immediate and long-term health of both the mother and her child.

Materials and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from January to June 2019 at a primary care clinic in Delhi, India, to estimate the burden of postpartum depression in women having an infant child. The Hindi version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used to screen for the depression in the participants. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS software version 25. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 210 women were screened, and 61 (29%) were detected with postpartum depression. On multivariate analysis, women reporting low and medium levels of perceived social support had significantly higher odds of having postpartum depression. However, depressive symptoms were not associated with the sex and age of the infant or even the sex composition of the women's other children.

Conclusion: Postpartum depression represents a major public health challenge in India. Regular, mandatory screening for postpartum depression is needed at primary health facilities in resource-constrained settings for an extended period postchildbirth.

Keywords: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; India; Postpartum depression; Social support.