Postpartum depression and related risk factors among Saudi females

Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common mental health complication of childbirth. It has been estimated to affect approximately 10-15% of mothers after childbirth. If untreated, PPD can lead to more serious mental illness. Identifying risk factors can help develop accurate screening assessment for the early identification and treatment of those at risk. To date, no studies have examined the prevalence rate of PPD among Saudi women or the specific risk factors for PPD in Saudi culture. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of PPD and to assess the risk factors. A total of 1200 women were invited to participate in the study immediately after delivery, 571 of those women were interviewed by phone five weeks later using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale. The study found an approximately 14% prevalence of PPD in Saudi women. A previous psychiatric history, mothers' health during pregnancy and the delivery time were specific risk factors in this group. These data are expected to motivate clinicians and mental health professionals who work with pregnant women to include assessments of these factors in their routine examinations and to improve the early identification and management of this condition.

Perinatal Mental Illness in the Middle East and North Africa Region—A Systematic Overview

“…All six additional primary studies (not mentioned in the SRs but identified by manual search) [ 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 120 ] clearly defined the population of interest. However, only three of them [ 74 , 75 , 76 ] defined the specific time period of the study and three [ 73 , 75 , 76 ] clarified the study setting.…”

“…Thirty-two primary studies [ 45 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 63 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 69 , 72 , 74 , 78 , 81 , 83 , 94 , 101 , 103 , 104 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 113 , 119 , 120 ] from 12 countries provided prevalence data during postpartum period. In addition to postpartum depression, two studies [ 10 , 124 ] included anxiety in their measurement, two studies [ 95 , 111 ] included postpartum blues, and two others combined all as “perinatal disorders” [ 67 , 98 ].…”

“…In addition to postpartum depression, two studies [ 10 , 124 ] included anxiety in their measurement, two studies [ 95 , 111 ] included postpartum blues, and two others combined all as “perinatal disorders” [ 67 , 98 ]. Twenty-three of the 32 primary studies (71.8%) used the EPDS [ 45 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 63 , 65 , 69 , 74 , 78 , 101 , 103 , 104 , 113 , 119 , 120 ] to measure postpartum depression. Six studies [ 47 , 51 , 56 , 72 , 83 , 101 ] used MINI.…”

“…Of the 32 studies, 9 measured postpartum depression at less than 6 weeks postpartum [ 45 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 59 , 63 , 66 , 94 , 120 ], 12 of them provided data during the six week to 3 month period [ 48 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 57 , 63 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 101 ], and 20 studies [ 47 , 51 , 53 , 54 , 58 , 65 , 66 , 69 , 72 , 78 , 83 , 94 , 103 , 104 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 113 , 119 , 123 ] in the three month to one-year period and one study [ 74 ] provided prevalence for the <6 week to 3 month period. Seven of these studies [ 49 , 51 , 53 , 54 , 65 , 66 , 101 ] had a prevalence at more than one point, and two among them [ 51 , …”

Impact of help-seeking behavior and partner support on postpartum depression among Saudi women

“…For example, the cutoff point was initially established at nine in Guedeney and Fermanian’s study 12. In another study conducted in Iran by Montazeri et al, three interpretive categories were created for the scores: those with a score of ≥13 were to be considered postnatally depressed, while scores of 10–12 represented “borderline” and 0–9 “not depressed.”13 However, Al-Modayfer et al14 in Saudi Arabia reported that the optimal cutoff point was 13 among Saudi women, with a sensitivity of 40.6 and specificity of 92.7. Importantly, a recent systematic review by Shrestha et al15 noted that the potential of EPDS to identify depression among women from low- and lower-middle-income countries with different cultures is unclear.…”