Assessment of Postpartum Depression in a Group of Chilean Parents

Abstract

Background and objective: Several studies have shown that not only mothers, but also fathers can suffer from peripartum depression. This phenomenon has not been researched in Chile; therefore, the aim of present study is to explore the presence of depressive symptoms in fathers and mothers during the postpartum period and describe their interaction. Material and Methods: users of the Western Metropolitan Health Service Unit were assessed two months after childbirth with a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-I), and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Results: even though mothers score significantly higher in both scales, 18.5% of men surpass the cutoff score in the EPDS and 10.5% in the BDI-I. Conclusion: these results stress the need to continue researching this phenomenon and incorporate father assessment in perinatal checkups.
 Keywords: depression, peripartum, fathers, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale

The Problem Overlooked in Postpartum Period: Paternal Depression

“…Literatür incelendiğinde, paternal depresyonu belirlemeye yönelik Beck Depresyon Ölçeği, Edinburgh Postnatal Depresyon Ölçeği, Gotland Erkek Depresyonu Ölçeği gibi farklı ölçekler kullanıldığı görülmektedir. 4,5,27,40 Madsen ve Juhl'un çalışması, babaların %7'sinin doğumdan altı hafta sonra postpartum depresyon geçirdiğini ortaya koymaktadır. 40 Goodman tarafından 20 araştırmanın değerlendirildiği çalışmada, postpartum ilk bir yıl içinde paternal depresyonunun görülme sıklığının %1,2-25,5 arasında olduğu belirlenmiştir.…”

“…K Ke ey yw wo or rd ds s: : Fathers; depression; postpartum period; nursing Aslıhan AKSU a , Duygu VEFİKULUÇAY YILMAZ a runları ve özellikle maternal depresyon sıkça araştırılmaktadır. [2][3][4][5] Buna karşılık yapılan bazı çalışmalarda postpartum dönemde babaların psikolojik olarak iyilik hâline değinilse de paternal depresyon, az araştırılan ve yeterince tanı konmayan önemli bir sağlık sorunu olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır.…”

Postpartum depression in men – a common but rarely understood problem

“…Other risk factors for PPPD include pre-existing mental illness, high expectations of childbirth, as well as low levels of family support and an unsatisfactory relationship with the partner [15]. Many research reports have emphasized the need for a standardized questionnaire suitable for the different course of male depression [9,11]. Introducing earlier intervention as well as education could contribute to reducing the incidence of PPPD.…”

“…It is a 10-item scale used as a screening test for postpartum depression occurring in mothers, but it has also found application in fathers. Comparing the results of the measured percentage of fathers with depression using the Beck Depression Scale (10.5%) and the EPDS (18.5%), almost twice as many positive results were obtained than by using the EPDS [9,10]. This questionnaire was used in a study conducted on a group of 436 fathers (including 61 with depression, to measure general distress (anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, stress) in men rather than detecting depression -a disease entity [11].…”

Interaction between Ideological and Political Education and Emotions of College Students Based on Brain Neuroscience

“…Studies have shown that the process of acceptance to education is closely related to emotions that can influence the choice of the subject's perception of ideological and political education, maintaining a stable attention to ideological and political education, and affect thinking activities and knowledge in the process of acceptance (Nadeau et al, 1995). Emotion is a rapidly changing psychological and physiological phenomenon (Francisca Pérez C et al, 2018;Seyong J et al, 2017). The advanced development of brain neuroscience imaging technology enables people to observe the brain activity of participants in cognitive tasks by the non-invasive brain imaging technology.…”