Prevalence of Postpartum Depressive Symptoms and Associated Factors Among Postpartum Mothers with Children 0-6 Months of Age at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital

Abstract

Background: Postpartum/postnatal depression is a type of mood disorder, which is associated with childbirth but could affect both sexes. Women with postnatal depression can experience disabling symptoms of low mood, irritability, fatigue, insomnia, changes in appetite, anxiety, guilt, inability to cope, feelings of worthlessness and thoughts of suicide. However, epidemiological data on the prevalence of postpartum depression and its associated factors are still unclear in Ghana. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of postpartum depressive symptoms and associated factors among postnatal mothers at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital. Methods: A facility based cross-sectional quantitative study was carried out between June 2018 and July, 2018, involving 124 mothers with children aged between 0-6 months who were attending Child Welfare Clinic (CWC)/postnatal clinic at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital. Simple random sampling (using random number generator software) technique was used to select respondents from CWC register. A structured questionnaire and the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) questionnaire were used for data collection Descriptive, bivariate analyses (using chi-square ), and a multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to describe important characteristics and examine the predictors of postnatal depression. Results: In all, 124 respondents were recruited for the study. About 4 in 10 (44.4%) of the respondents had depressive symptoms scores classified as high by the EPDS. Loss of a love one recently (AOR=5.44; CI=1.31-22.47, p= 0.019), number of antenatal clinic (ANC) visits the woman had during her recent pregnancy (AOR=61.88; CI=13.5-75.9, p= 0.001), time the woman stayed in the hospital before discharge (AOR=0.28; CI=0.14-0.83, p=0.05) and child being ill or admitted after delivery (AOR=3.16; CI=1.58-17.03, p= 0.019) were the factors associated with having postpartum depression symptoms. Conclusion: This study has revealed that the prevalence of postnatal depressive symptoms among mothers with children aged 0-6months at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital is relatively high. Loss of a love one recently , number of antenatal clinic (ANC) visits the woman had during her recent pregnancy , time the woman stayed in the hospital before discharge and child being ill or admitted after delivery were some of the factors found in this study to be associated with experiencing postpartum depressive symptoms. There is the need for urgent measures including counselling and psychosocial support both at home and in health facilities to help address postpartum depression among postpartum mothers.