Prevalence and Factors Associated with Postpartum Depression Among Postnatal Mothers in Industrial Division, Mbale City- A Mixed Method Study

Abstract

Introduction: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a substantial cause of maternal morbidity. It reduces a mother’s ability to respond to her child’s needs and in severe cases mothers are prone to psychosis and infanticidal ideations. In Uganda, over 70 of 300 women suffer from PPD (Atuhaire, 2021) and despite this burden, the exact cause of postpartum depression has not yet been clearly explained. Study Objective: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with postpartum depression among postnatal mothers in Industrial division, Mbale City. Methods: A cross-sectional explanatory sequential design employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. Study subjects were selected using systematic sampling for quantitative data and convenience sampling for qualitative data. The Edinburgh postnatal depression scale with a cut of score of 7 was used to determine the prevalence of PPD, a researcher-administered questionnaire, and in-depth interviews were used to collect data on independent variables associated with postpartum depression. Data was cleaned, entered in excel and analyzed in STATA. At a univariate level, frequency distribution and percentages were used to present categorical data, at the bivariate level, the Chi-square test was used to test for the association between the dependent and independent variables and at multivariate level, the multivariate logistic regression was used at a 95% level of significance, and p-value set at 0.05. Results: The prevalence of postpartum depression was 32.5%. Marital status (AOR=2.640, p value=0.025), level of social support (AOR=0.287, p-value=0.031), age (AOR=4.357, p value=0.015,) and awareness on postpartum depression (AOR=4.053, p-value=0.001) were identified as predictors of postpartum depression. Conclusion and recommendations: The prevalence of PPD is high, which is an indicator of major weaknesses in the support system around a mother post-delivery, the integration of mental health services into maternal and child health service delivery is still weak. Therefore, a more integrated and holistic approach to Maternal and Child Health that encompasses maternal mental health screening and treatment coupled with capacity building for health workers should be developed and rolled out.