A study of postpartum depression and its risk factors in a tertiary hospital in India

Background. To determine the proportion of postpartum depression in women attending a Tertiary Hospital and to determine and study the risk factors associated with postpartum depression. Methods. The present study was a Hospital based Cross-sectional study in which 561 women were assessed on the 3^rd postnatal day and at 6 weeks postpartum for depression and significant risk factors associated with it. Results. Total number of 600 postnatal women participated in the study. 39 women were lost to follow up at 6 weeks. Final sample size for analysis 561. Out of the total 561 postnatal women, 135 of them had a score of > 13 on the EPDS on the 3rd postpartum day, indicating 24.1% of the postnatal women with “Postpartum Blues”. The proportion of postpartum depression was 7.7%. Conclusions. The present study found factors like Age of the woman, low level of education, low socio-economic status, age at marriage, primiparity, obstetric complications, previous miscarriage, preference for a male child, neonatal complications, psychiatric disorder, living in joint families, marital conflict, lack of family support and alcohol abuse by the husband were the risk factors for Postpartum depression. There was no association between postpartum depression and factors like age at first pregnancy, whether the pregnancy was planned or unplanned, infertility treatment, mode of delivery (vaginal or caesarean, medical comorbidities and adverse life event during pregnancy).