Factors Associated with Postpartum Depression among Women in an Urban Area of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Background and Objective: Limited data are available on prevalence and determinants of Postpartum Depression (PPD) among women in Bangladesh. This study aims at determining the factors associated with PPD among women in an urban setting in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at Urban Primary Health Care Center of Dhaka. A total of 277 postpartum women were interviewed using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to screen for depression. Those women who scored 11 or more were categorized as depressed. Factors associated with postpartum depressive symptoms were analyzed through appropriate statistical method. Results: The proportion of women with PPD in this study is 82.3%. Risk factors found to be significantly associated with postpartum depression were participant’s age (p = 0.003), husband’s education (p = 0.022), husband’s occupation (p = 0.014), husband’s income (p = 0.012), participant’s age during marriage (p = 0.016), age of menarche (p = 0.024), age of first conception (p = 0.000), history of abortion (p = 0.050), complication during pregnancy (p = 0.024), excess fear of delivery (p = 0.001), the most expected person during pregnancy (p=0.000), husband’s support for taking care of child (p = 0.049), participant’s mood swings in present days (p = 0.000), often feeling sad (p = 0.004), worries about taking care of child (p = 0.000), place of delivery (p = 0.021), complication during delivery (p = 0.025), desired gender of child (p = 0.008), twins or triplet babies (p = 0.002), baby’s follow up visit within 42 days (p = 0.006). Conclusion: Postpartum depression is common but largely undetected public health problem in Bangladesh. By using simple screening methods depression can be detected early in the postpartum period. More research is required for the innovation of effective, low cost and culturally appropriate PPD case management and preventive intervention in Bangladesh.