| Summary: | Background: Pregnancy and childbirth produce a variety of physiological, psychological and social consequences. Attitudes toward pregnancy and childbirth vary from culture to culture. There is evidence to suggest mothers with young infants experience depressive symptoms and 10-15% major depression. Aim: To study the incidence and factors contributing toward postpartum depression Materials and Methods: Married women 18-35 years of age attending the antenatal and postnatal out-patient clinic were studied during 2007 and January 2008. 200 women who had delivered between 1 June 2007 and 1 January 2008 were included in the postpartum phase to calculate the incidence of postpartum depression. The prospective mothers were approached in their 3 rd trimester of pregnancy. Critically ill, past history of depression, co morbid medical or psychiatric illnesses were excluded. The diagnosis of postpartum depression (PPD) was made as per international classification of diseases (ICD 10). They were administered the beck depression inventory (BDI), Presumptive stressful life event scale, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) scale. The women were subsequently reviewed in their postpartum phase in the postnatal out-patient/child immunization clinic at 2, 4 and 6 weeks after delivery. The non-depressed mothers acted as the controls. Results: A Total of 186 women out of 200 registered for the study 40 had scores above 13 on EPDS and grouped as depressive met ICD 10 diagnostic criteria. The remaining 146 were non depressive. 14 women dropped out of the study. Incidence of PPD was 21.51%. The study found 14/27 (51.8%) of the risk factors associated with PPDs were statistically significant. Significant number of mothers had high antenatal GHQ and both antenatal and postnatal BDI scores. BDI and EPDS scores remained high during the postnatal follow-up in the depressed group, which showed the presence of PPD in mothers with young infants. Conclusions: There is a need for sensitizing primary health-care givers regarding PPD and is an important health issue that should not be ignored.
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