| Popis: |
Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major depressive disorder with possible long-term consequences on the mother and her infant. Despite the reported high prevalence rates, the rates of diagnosis and treatment of this serious problem are low due to lack of early recognition. Aim: Screening for PPD among women during well-baby visits in a rural community. The Specific objectives included: 1) Assessment of the prevalence of PPD and 2) Identification of its independent predictors among the studied women. Patients and Methods: A sample size of 210 women was randomly selected from postpartum women, 6-8 weeks after delivery, during their well-baby visits in a rural community, Ismailia, Egypt. The field-work was conducted from October 15, 2011 to December 10, 2011. The Arabic version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used for PPD screening. Socio-demographic characteristics of the participants were collected by a pre-designed structured questionnaire. Results: Out of 200 screened women who responded to the questionnaires, depression was detected in 22%. Women who perceived interpersonal relationship with their husbands as a poor relationship were 12 times more likely to suffer from postpartum depression than those perceived this relationship as a good one (OR= 12 [95% CI =4.2-34.5]). Housewives were more liable to develop postpartum depression (OR= 3.4]) than working mothers. Postpartum depression, also, was more common among women who delivered normally (OR=3.9); fed their infants by breast (OR=3.8); and those who had female infant (OR=3.9). Conclusion: PPD is a considerable and existing problem among the study group. Opportunistic screening of mothers at well-child visits by family physicians should be conducted for early detection of postpartum depression. |
