A study of the burden of maternal depression on young mothers and their caretakers

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the burden of maternal depression in young mothers and their caretakers compared to their non-depressed counterparts. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, analytical, case–control study was carried out in a metropolitan tertiary care teaching hospital. Young mothers were screened for probable psychological disorders using 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The positive cases were administered The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale to identify mothers suffering from depressive illness. All mothers with score above 13, with confirmed diagnosis of depressive disorder by a psychiatrist, were recruited as study subjects. Their caregivers were assessed for burden using burden assessment schedule. The mothers, scoring below the cutoff on GHQ, and their caregivers, were recruited as the comparison group. Fifty consecutive mothers were recruited in both groups. Results: Among depressed mothers 72% had a female child and 28% had a male child. Among nondepressed mothers 60% had a male child and 40% had female child. The caregivers of depressed and nondepressed mothers spent an average of 11.32 h and 9.2 h, respectively, daily. The number of hours spent in caring during any given day was highly correlated with the burden assessment schedule (BAS) score. Greater the number of hours spent-greater was the BAS score. Conclusion: There is a higher likelihood of postpartum depression among mothers if gender of the baby born is a female. There is a considerable burden on caregivers of depressed mothers which is directly correlated with the time the caregiver is providing care for depressed mother.