Biomedical Research

Women undergo various physical and mental changes during their postpartum period and are in a vulnerable state of mind. Some women may not cope with these situations as better than others and consequently they undergo a depressive state known as postpartum depression. It is a debilitating disorder and should be screened at an early stage to avoid long term adverse effects. The objectives of this study were to quantify the prevalence of postpartum depression in an urban setting where literacy rate is higher and medical facilities are readily available. This observational cross sectional study was performed in National Hospital, Lahore and Fatima Memorial Hospital, Lahore and was accumulated at RCRS Lahore. Study was accomplished in 4 months after the ratification of synopsis. Non-probability, purposive sampling was used. Sample size was calculated to be of 88 women. Self-administered questionnaire consisting of validated 10 items, Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) [1] was employed to detect depression among women living in an urban setting. The grand mean of all the 10 items of Edinburgh postnatal scale was 6.7 ± 2.6 SD. The grand mean of question number 10 was calculated to be 2.37 ± 3.48 SD which shows that most women hardly ever thought about committing suicide. The results depicts that prevalence of postpartum depression in an urban setting is very low. The association between age, postnatal week, educational level and socioeconomic status states that depression most commonly occurs in undergraduate adolescents belonging to lower class families and peeks in their third postnatal week. The prevalence of postpartum depression is quite low in urban settings. This shows that the depressive states are avoided in better literate and socioeconomic statuses. Women are more capable of coping with new challenges and their families are better apt of supporting them through this period.

Author(s): Maria Ahmad, Maryam Shabbir Butt, Bilal Umar, Hafiz Sheraz Arshad, Nayab Iftikhar, Umer Maqsood
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