Abstract
Pregnancy is associated with several physical and psychosocial challenges that influence women’s health and wellbeing. However, prenatal mental health has received little attention. Therefore, this study examined the prevalence and correlates of prenatal depression, anxiety and current suicidal behaviors among pregnant women in the Volta Region of Ghana. Two hundred and fourteen (n = 214) pregnant women recruited from two hospitals responded to the hospital depression and anxiety scale (HADS), the insomnia severity index, and a set of psycho-behavioral, socioenvironmental and demographic characteristic questions. Chi-squared, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were used for data analysis. Prevalence of prenatal depression, anxiety and current suicidal behaviors was 50.5%, 35.5% and 3.3%, respectively. After controlling for other variables, average monthly income, insomnia, non-nutritious food consumption (pica), and body image satisfaction were significantly associated with depression. Marital status, insomnia, lifetime suicidal behavior and partner support were significantly associated with anxiety. Current partner abuse was the only factor significantly associated with current suicidal behavior. The high prevalence rates of anxiety and depression among pregnant women and intimate partner violence remain important maternal health issues in the region. Therefore, brief mental health screening and counseling services should be integrated into prenatal healthcare services.
Highlights
Participants’ whose pregnancies were planned were 51% less likely to report prenatal depression (OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.28–0.85, p < 0.05) than those women with unplanned pregnancies
In terms of psycho-behavioral factors, the presence of insomnia was associated with 2.68 increased odds of experiencing prenatal depression (OR = 2.68, 95% CI = 1.53–4.70, p < 0.01) and remained significant in an adjusted model (AOR = 3.06, 95% CI = 1.54–6.10, p < 0.01)
We further examined the risk and protective factors for prenatal mental health problems and showed that varied demographic, psycho-behavioral and socioenvironmental factors were associated with depression, anxiety and current suicidal behaviors
Summary
Mental health problems during pregnancy have significant impacts on women’s health, both during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Mother’s prenatal mental health has been associated with child outcomes, such as poor birth outcomes, including poor fetal growth, low birth weight, infant diarrheal morbidity, breastfeeding problems, maternalchild interactions, and lower cognitive development [1,2,3]. Prenatal affective disorders, such as depression and anxiety, are the most commonly reported mental health problems among pregnant women [3,4].
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