Association of Postpartum Depression with Social Support: A Cross-Sectional Study in A Hospital Setting of Rawalpindi-Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

In Pakistan, the association of factors related to depression needs to be explored a little more because here when a woman discusses or shares her problems, her concerns are dismissed and turned down, the same reason women don’t express their feelings and seek help. Objective: To determine the association between postpartum depression and social support among women presenting at a hospital in Rawalpindi-Islamabad, Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 310 women presenting to the obstetrics and gynaecology OPD, vaccination center and psychiatric OPD of Tertiary Care Hospital within postpartum phase. Participants were recruited via convenience sampling. The Structured questionnaire included demographics and gynaecological history. Edinburgh postpartum depression scale (EPDS) was used to classify patients at risk of postnatal depression. Social support was scored on multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Data analysis included descriptive statistics such as frequency & percentages and inferential statistics consisted of Pearson Chi-Square, independent samples t-test and Multiple Linear Regression. Statistical analysis done using IBM SPSS version-26. Results: The results indicated that the social support from significant other and family members is significantly associated with the development of postpartum depression (p-value <0.05). Furthermore, age of the mother, type of delivery, baby feeding habits, and history of being unwell during pregnancy did not present to have significant association with the development of postpartum depression. Conclusions: The findings of the study conclude that the development of postpartum depression is most importantly affected by lack of support from the family and husband after childbirth