Depression among Women during Post-Partum Period: A Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: Depression is a common mental disorder characterised by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness and poor concentration. Approximately 50–80 % of women suffering from postpartum blues in the puerperal period, with about 20 % of them developing postpartum depression. So, this study is carried out with the objective to assess the depression during post-partum period among women in Tumakuru by using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient department of Sri Siddhartha Medical College Hospital and District hospital, Tumakuru from November 2016 to May 2017. Total number of participants were 100. Data was collected using interview method by using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Descriptive statistics was done to get frequencies and percentages and chi square test was applied. Results: Out of 100 women, 16(16%) belong to 19 to 21 years of age; the mean age being 23.6 years and standard deviation of 2.425. In our study, 60 (60%) women experienced depression during their postnatal period. 74.1% of women experienced depression among the age group 26 to 29, there was no significant association between maternal age and depression among the study population. Conclusion: The above study shows that 60 % of the woman suffer from postnatal depression. There is no significant association between the age, area of residence, mode of delivery, sex of the baby and depression among the study population