Relationship between levels of postnatal depression and its correlates; neonate's birth order and mother's age among new mothers.

Context: Postnatal depression (PND) is a well-known cause of distress among new mothers depicting a significant public health problem affecting women, neonates, and the family.[1] During the postnatal period, there is a rise in the physical and emotional pressure on the mother, and the exhaustion associated with PND may affect her capacity as a mother to provide love and care to the newborn.

Aims: To study the relationship between the levels of PND and new mothers' age and birth order of the neonates.

Settings and design: Hospital setting and cross-sectional research design.

Methods and material: The cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 new mothers in the first week of their delivery by administering the Telugu version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).

Statistical analysis used: The data was analyzed using SPSS 27 (2019) for ANOVA, F test, and Chi-square test.

Results: The majority (90%) of mothers had moderate PND with EPDS scores between 11-20 and 6% had high PND with EPDS scores between 21-30 and the sample mean EPDS scores ranged from 1.23 to 2.14. The results of the one-way analysis of variance indicated that the sample did not differ significantly (P = 0.5 and P > 0.05) in their levels of EPDS scores with regard to their age. On the contrary, there was a significant association found between the birth order of the neonate and levels of PND of new mothers (n = 100) under study.

Conclusions: The findings of the study reiterates that the levels of PND among new mothers had no relationship with their age but showed a strong relationship with their neonate's birth order and recommends screening new mothers for PND.