An Assessment of the Risk Factors and Concerns of Postpartum Depression among Mothers Seeking Health Care in North Central Trinidad

BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a debilitating mental disorder which affects mainly females usually after giving birth. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to study the risk factors and concerns of PPD among mothers seeking health care at regional health authority hospitals in Trinidad. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cross-sectional study consisted of 360 mothers from the postnatal and neonatal clinics of the North Central Regional Health Authority, Trinidad. Data were collected via a questionnaire using convenience sampling to study the risk factors and concerns of PPD among mothers. Participants were asked to sign a consent form before filling out the questionnaire. The questions were geared toward obtaining mother's perspective on predisposing factors of PPD, identifying if they are at risk for perinatal depression, the outcomes of having PPD, and determining if they were screened and treated for it. RESULTS: This study comprised 360 postnatal women among which 4.7% were diagnosed with postpartum while 40% scored ≥10 in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale which indicated a risk for PPD. This research revealed seven significant predictors of PPD: family history of mental illness, baby blues, mood swings during period, use of oral contraceptives, emotional support, life stress, and being diagnosed with depression (P < 0.05). Other characteristics like sociodemographics were not remarkably correlated but marginally indicative of depressive signs. CONCLUSION: The study shows that many risk factors of PPD exist, and screening and treatment should be used to avoid the consequences of PPD.