Maternal psychological distress and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at public hospitals, Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE: Mothers who have endured psychological distress during pregnancy are more likely to have cognitive and behavioral issues for their baby, and are at greater risk for subsequent mental health problems for themselves. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of psychological distress during pregnancy in women attending antenatal clinics in Addis Ababa public hospitals and to find out if there are any associated factors. METHODS: Hospital based cross sectional study was employed from May 7 to June 6, 2019 at public hospitals. A total of 810 pregnant women participated in the study selected through systematic random sampling technique. Kessler psychological distress Scale (K10) was used to measure psychological distress during pregnancy. Frequency tables and graphs were used to describe the study variable. The association between variables analyzed with bi-variable and multivariable binary logistic regression. A statistical significance was declared at p value < 0.05 with 95% confidence interval. RESULT: A total of 810 participants were included in the study with the response rate of 92%. The Prevalence of psychological distress among pregnant women was found to be 174(21.5%) with (95% CI, 18.6, 24.6). decreasing age [AOR = 3.61, 95%CI, 1.00, 13.01], no formal education [AOR = 3.57, 95%CI, 2.06, 6.19], having an abortion history [AOR = 2.23, 95%CI, 1.29, 3.87], having intimate partner violence [AOR = 4.06, 95%CI, 2.37, 6.94] and poor social support[AOR = 3.33, 95%CI, 1.95, 5.70] were statistically associated with psychological distress during pregnancy. CONCLUSION: This research found high prevalence of psychological distress during pregnancy compared with majorities of preceding studies. In this study we identified factors that are associated with psychological distress in pregnancy. This includes, decreasing age, no formal education, having an abortion history, having intimate partner violence and poor social support. Psychological distress screening and potential risk factors for mental illness evaluations should be carried out during pregnancy for early diagnosis and intervention.