Abstract
BackgroundMiscarriages are a common pregnancy complication affecting about 10–15% of pregnancies. Miscarriages may be associated with a myriad of psychiatric morbidity at various timelines after the event. Depression has been shown to affect about 10–20% of all women following a miscarriage. However, no data exists in the local setting informing on the prevalence of post-miscarriage depression. We set out to determine the prevalence of positive depression screen among women who have experienced a miscarriage at the Aga Khan University hospital, Nairobi.MethodsThe study was cross-sectional in design. Patients who had a miscarriage were recruited at the post-miscarriage clinic review at the gynecology clinics at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. The Edinburgh postpartum depression scale was used to screen for depression in the patients. Prevalence was calculated from the percentage of patients achieving the cut –off score of 13 over the total number of patients.ResultsA total of 182 patients were recruited for the study. The prevalence of positive depression screen was 34.1% since 62 of the 182 patients had a positive depression screen. Moreover, of the patients who had a positive depression screen, 21(33.1%) had thoughts of self-harm.ConclusionA positive depression screen is present in 34.1% of women in our population two weeks after a miscarriage. Thoughts of self-harm are present in about a third of these women (33.1%) hence pointing out the importance of screening these women using the EPDS after a miscarriage.
Highlights
Miscarriages are a common pregnancy complication affecting about 10–15% of pregnancies
Limitations and future directions The limitations of the study included not being able to confirm clinical depression using a psychiatric consult which was due to financial constraints due to a limited budget. This may be a study to undertake that we have shown that post miscarriage depression is an area of concern in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology
In conclusion, a positive depression screen is present in 34.1% of women in our population 2 weeks after a miscarriage
Summary
Miscarriages are a common pregnancy complication affecting about 10–15% of pregnancies. Miscarriages are among the most common complication of pregnancy occurring in about 10–15% of pregnancies that are considered low-risk [2, 3]. Psychiatric illnesses have been shown to be a major complication of miscarriages with various psychiatric morbidities being linked to it including depression, anxiety and even post-traumatic stress disorders [9, 11, 12]. Such psychiatric illnesses have been shown to have an implication in subsequent pregnancies with women who have had psychiatric morbidity being shown to be at higher risk of redeveloping
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