Postpartum Depression among Women in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State.

Background Postpartum depression is a common psychiatric complication of childbearing among women. The increasing rate in addition to poor clinical diagnosis is attributable to poor health care services and inadequate medical attention. The implication is the high morbidity with adverse social and medical consequences. Aims The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of postpartum depression among women in Uyo and to determine the association between some sociodemographic variables such as parity, pattern of deliveries and postpartum depression. Method Three hundred and thirty five women who delivered at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital between January and March 2007 were followed up at 6 weeks. They were screened for postpartum depression, using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Results Of the 315 women assessed, 287 (91.1%) were aged between 20-39 years and the mean age of the women was 21.3 ± 4.7 years; 260 (82.5%) were married and 286 (90.8%) had secondary school education and above with 134 (42.5%) being employed. A total of 81 (25.7%) of them saussffoecrieadti ofrnosm b eptowstepeanr taugme (dXe2p=r8e.s1s7io9n, .d Tf=he4r;e P w Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 6 (2) 2008: pp. 65-69