Prevalence of postpartum depression and associated factors among women attending primary health care centers in Baghdad

Although it usually appears in the first 4 weeks after delivery, postpartum depression (PPD) is a form of depression that can strike at any time within a year after childbirth. Generally, the symptoms of PPD subside after 3 months of giving birth. The risk factors should be identified to determine the prevalence of PPD. In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in which women (n = 400) attending four main healthcare facilities in Baghdad, Iraq, who were in 6 – 8 weeks postpartum, were recruited from January 18 to February 25, 2024. Systematic random sampling was used to select the participants. The Edinburg Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) was employed to assess the symptoms of PPD, with a cutoff score of ≥ 12. Among the 400 participants in the study, 202 (50.5%) of the participants complained of having PPD. Approximately 216 (54%) of the participants were between the ages of 20 and 29, and 320 (80%) of them were housewives. This analysis found a significant association of PPD occurrence with the level of education (p = 0.018), complications that happened to the mothers during or after delivery (p = 0.0001), preference of the sex of the last baby (p = 0.014), family support after delivery (p = 0.001), quality of relationship with their partners (p = 0.006), and previous symptoms of depression before or during the past pregnancy (p = 0.0001). Nearly half of the women suffer from PPD during their puerperium, and it is substantially linked to the child’s sex, postpartum difficulties, history of depressive disorders, and lack of parental assistance. Half of the participants suffered from PPD, significantly associated with a lack of education, family support, maternal complications, and undesirable newborn sex.