An Analytical Study of Contributory Factors of Postpartum Depression among Women in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

A postpartum or postnatal period is a period starting afterward the birth of a child immediately and continued for about 6-8 weeks, may prolong to one year. Postpartum is the most neglected, abandoned and life-threatening phase for both mothers and babies; most complications and deaths occur during the postpartum period. Postpartum depression is a combination of physical and emotional changes that happen to mothers after giving birth; one of the major mental illnesses that affect many women from diverse culture. Socio-economic, demographic, environmental and cultural problems lead to this entire phenomenon in Pakistan. In this context, postpartum depression has received a little attention in Pakistan. A number of risk factors have been identified, but the actual social, obstetric and psychological determinants of postpartum depression among Pakistani women are not tacit. The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the contributory factors of postpartum depression among women; and to view the effects of postpartum depression on the mother’s life. For this purpose, cross-sectional study was conducted, and both the quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to examine the factors. The universe of the study was District Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. The target population of the study was the postpartum mothers age 15-44 years with a baby up to one year of age in the rural areas of District Faisalabad. A sample of 400 respondents was selected through multistage sampling technique and data were collected through well designed interview schedule. Four rural towns were selected conveniently from District Faisalabad. At the first stage, four union councils were selected randomly from each rural town. At the second stage, 25 respondents were selected randomly from each selected union council. Qualitative data was conducted by using focus group discussion. Eight focus group discussions were conducted; two from each town. Both the descriptive and inferential analysis was carried out. Population based survey was analyzed through univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses by using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) to evaluate the responses; and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to check the level of postpartum depression among women. Focus group discussions were analyzed through content analysis technique. The present study found the most important contributing factor of postpartum depression such as education, family income, number of pregnancies and abortions, complications (pregnancy and delivery), self-crisis, lack of social support and violence. The most common symptoms of postpartum depression among women are crying incidents, anxiety, changes in eating and sleeping pattern, low energy, irritability and tiredness. So, the provision of maternal health care practices is essential to decline and postpartum depression related problems. The maternal poor health status and inadequate health facilities are a great challenge for government, health practitioners, policy makers, NGOs and researchers.