Study of the prevalence, associated factors and impact of maternal perinatal depression in women Alexandria 2022

Objective. Depression is one of the most common mental health problems occurring in women during their childbearing years. The aim of the work is to study prevalence, impact of maternal perinatal depression in Alexandria.
Materials and Methods. This study was conducted on 300 mothers at the postnatal ward in El-Shatby Maternity Hospital from April 2022 until October 2022. Females with past history of depression before pregnancy or females who receive medications inducing depression were excluded. The participants were asked to complete the questionnaire that includes the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) as a screening test to obtain information concerning the current frame of mind at antepartum, partum and postpartum periods.
Results. The prevalence of perinatal depression was 22.3%. It was found that there is a significant negative moderate correlation between socioeconomic status and perinatal depression (r = -0.42). The present study revealed that about two thirds (60.7%) of postpartum women had low socioeconomic level. Also, less than one fourth (20%) of parents had high education and only one fourth (25.3%) of postpartum women were working. There was a statistically significance difference between the number of previous abortions and perinatal depression (p = 0.04).
Conclusions. The prevalence of perinatal depression among the studied women was 22.3% of studied group. The significant factors identified in this study can be targeted to reduce the occurrence of perinatal depression among pregnant women in Alexandria through appropriate health interventions which includes perinatal depression screening, counselling, and the provision of support for pregnant women during antenatal care as well as lifestyle modification.