Abstract
Objective
Investigate the prevalence and risk factors for maternal depressive symptoms in the immediate postpartum period.
Methods
Cross-sectional study, involving 1099 postpartum women. The presence of maternal depressive symptoms was measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, applied on the second day after birth, adopting ≥10 as a cut-off point. The data were collected in Botucatu-SP between January and June 2012. Factors associated with the depressive symptoms were initially investigated using multiple logistic regression, and those associated at the level of p<0.20 were included in the final regression model, significance being set as p<0.05, with a 95% confidence level. This study received approval from a Research Ethics Committee and complied with the recommendations for research involving human beings.
Results
The prevalence of depressive symptoms amounted to 6.7%. Use of antidepressants during pregnancy, violence suffering during pregnancy and cesarean section were associated with the depressive symptoms in the immediate postpartum two, four and two times, respectively.
Conclusion
Women taking antidepressants, who were victims of violence during pregnancy and who gave birth through a cesarean section need particular attention, considering that these events were identified as risk factors for depressive symptoms.
Postpartum period; Depressive symptoms; Analytical epidemiology