Postpartum Depression and Risk Factors Among Teenage Mothers Attending Kapsabet Referral Hospital, Nandi County, Kenya

Objective: This study was carried out with the main purpose of determining the risk factors leading to occurrence of postpartum depression among teenage mothers attending Kapsabet County Hospital. Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was used. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data which adopted the Edinburgh depression scale for depression assessment among 160 teenage mothers. Descriptive statistics used were proportions and percentages for categorical variables whilst mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum were used for continuous variables was used to organize and preliminary analyze the acquired data. In addition, chi-square analysis was used to find out the association between the data variables. Finally, Mann-Whitney U test was used to find out the risk factors among the variables theorized to be associated with postpartum depression. Results: This study has shown that truly PPD is a problem in Kenya more specifically in Nandi County (with a prevalence of 93%) having almost all the assessed risk factors contributing to the condition. The risk factors found to be associated with postpartum depression were: respondents’ number of children (p-value = 0.019); respondents’ relationship with the father of their baby (p-value = 0.033); respondents’ source of financial support (p-value < 0.001); respondents’ family reception of pregnancy news (p-value < 0.001); abuse experienced by the respondents (p-value < 0.001); who respondents stay with (p-value < 0.001); physical abuse experienced by the respondents (p-value 0.001). Conclusion: This study has shown that truly PPD is a problem in Kenya more specifically in Nandi County having almost all the assessed risk factors contributing to the condition. Developing ways to help afflicted persons requires an understanding of its prevalence, contributing factors, and repercussions. Key words: Postpartum depression, risk factors, prevalence and teen mothers.