Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD) is defined as presence of depressive symptoms in the postpartum period. A seemingly innocuous disorder, if untreated can lead to foeticide or maternal suicide. Furthermore, there is currently no screening tool designated for use in clinical practice and no data are routinely collected on the proportion of perinatal women with postpartum depression. Hence the current study is taken to accurately estimate the burden of postpartum depression using valid tool. To assess the prevalence of postpartum depression among postnatal mothers in rural India Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among the 110 postnatal mothers attending immunization clinics and general OPD in the field practice area of department of Community Medicine, GMC, Srikakulam. Modified EPDS scale validated in local language was used to collect data. Results: The mean age of the mothers 23.7 ±2.6 ,most(42.7%) of them were intermediate educated and upper lower class(70%) of SES. The prevalence of possible depression (score ≥10) is 19.1% and the prevalence of Depression of varying severity (score >13) is 10%. Post partum depression is associated with age, SES, type of delivery, immediate outcome of delivery. Conclusion: EPDS tool can be effectively used to screen post partum depression at primary health care level.

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