Depression Symptoms in the Second and Third Trimester of Gestation
8 Pages Posted: 27 Jan 2012
Date Written: January 25, 2012
Abstract
Maternal mental health contributing to physiological modification during pregnancy has been shown to have significant impacts on mother, infant, future generation even on family. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of antenatal depressive symptoms and factors associated among a sample of Malay pregnant women in their second and third trimester of pregnancy. This cross-sectional study conducted among 401 pregnant women who attended in Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic for their antenatal care visits. Questionnaires of socio demographic (11 items) and the Malay version of Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were utilized.
The mean age of the women was 29.68 ± 5.02. The mean and standard deviation of depression scores was (8.7± 3.8). In this study, participants had gestational age of (26 6 ± 4 4 weeks), gravidity (number of pregnancy 3±2) and parity (number of deliveries 1±1). The findings show that there were significant association between levels of depression symptoms with age, gravidity, parity and monthly income. There was not any association between depression symptoms and gestational age. Based on cut off point of 11.5 and score of depression as ≥12, the prevalence of Antenatal Depression (AND) at second and third trimester of pregnancy in Kota Bharu District was 25.7%. There was a significant negative linear relationship for monthly income -0.642 (-1.055, -0.229; P value 0.002<0.05) with AND after adjustment for other confounders. Increase of one score in monthly income will decrease the EPDS score by 0.263. The findings of this study indicate that income status is the important factor that will influence maternal depression during pregnancy. Furthermore, high prevalence of antenatal depression causes specific need to improve a system for reliable detection and effective intervention strategies, which can be conveyed commonly within the health services.
Keywords: Depression, Psychological health, Pregnancy, Women
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