Postpartum depression and risk factors in a tertiary care centre in Northern India

• Author Details:   
• Monika Dalal
• Pushpa Dahiya ^*
• Purushottam Jangid
• Shuchita Dahiya
• Jagjit Singh Dalal
• Savita Rani Singhal

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Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common non-psychotic illness that can occur at any time after conception till postpartum period, mostly observed within 2-6 weeks of birth and can occur as late as 30 weeks after delivery.

Objective: This study aims to understand the prevalence of postpartum depression among women in a tertiary care centre in northern India and to identify risk factors associated with PPD.

Materials and Methods: A one-year cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 postpartum women who presented to the Obstetrics and Gynecology department (outpatient) from 2 to 6 weeks after giving birth. Women with cognitive dysfunction, women who did not want to participate and postpartum thyroiditis were not included in this study. Data were collected by pre-developed, pretested and validated Hindi version of Edinburgh postpartum depression scale (EPDS).

Results: The prevalence of 8% was found in this study. Socio demographic factors such as birth of the baby girl, complications related to pregnancy, adverse life events and domestic abuse, non-availability of family support during pregnancy and delivery have been observed to be significant in the development of PPD.

Conclusion: Postpartum depression is a major health problem and its impact is important not only for the mother but also to the child. For this reason, we recommend screening of PPD in our society, especially for the women in these risk groups as they could benefit from screening for the presence of PPD.

Keywords: Postpartum, Depression, Pregnancy, Delivery.