Title : Exploring postpartum depression in mumbai's slum-dwelling mothers: Unravelling the interplay of social, obstetric, and spousal factors through a community-based cross-sectional study
Abstract:
Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a chain of depressive episodes experienced by the mother after childbirth. Slums have high prevalence of depression and are under-researched. A plethora of factors dictate the mental health outcomes among women during and after pregnancy. The paper attempts to present the social, obstetric and spousal determinants of PPD among urban slum-dwelling mothers in Mumbai.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 314 women having children up to two years of age in three different slums of Mumbai. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to assess mothers for depressive symptoms. To identify the significant predictors of PPD, chi-square test was conducted. The factors associated with ‘PPD status’ in chi-square test were fit in a bivariate logistic model. Significant predictors from the bivariate analysis were included in a multivariate logistic regression model to determine which factors independently predicted PPD while accounting for the effects of other variables.
Results: Of the 314 women 38.5% women were positive for PPD on EPDS. Lack of formal education of both the mother and her spouse, increased age at conception, unplanned pregnancy, delivery by C-section, sleep deprivation, and increasing family size increased the odds of mother experiencing PPD. While spouse’s involvement in childcare, and mother’s satisfaction with her spouse’s involvement in childcare decreased the odds of PPD.
Conclusion: Awareness and health education regarding PPD among Indian population are requisite. Institutionalizing routine screening for PPD and providing required care as a part of antenatal care in MCH program is need of the hour.
