Prevalence and risk factors for psychiatric Morbidity and its Correlates among Postpartum Women in a Tertiary Care Hospital-A cross-sectional study

Background and objective: The prevalence of psychiatric disorders range from 15% to 29%. Risk factors identified in various studies included lack of a romantic partner, previous history of psychiatric disorder, and lifetime exposure to traumatic events. Many studies were limited by use of screening scales rather than diagnostic measures for DSM-5 criteria. This study was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for psychiatric morbidity and its correlates among postpartum women in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Psychiatry, T.S. Misra Medical College & Hospital Lucknow from June 2019 to July 2020. A total of 100 female patients who delivered in obstetrics and gynaecology department were interviewed and assessed randomly for psychiatric morbidities as per the DSM-5 criteria within the first six days of delivery and same patients were followed after 6 weeks. Result: The psychiatric morbidity was seen in 16% of the study subjects. 12% of females suffered from major depressive disorder at birth. Similarly, after 6 weeks follow up, 7% suffered from major depressive disorder. Psychiatric morbidities are more common in primipara as compared to multipara and who underwent caesarean section also suffered more psychiatric morbidity. Only 1% female suffered from severe anxiety both within six days of delivery and after 6 weeks of follow up and 3% of postpartum females continued with severe depression after 6 weeks of follow up. Conclusion: The present study makes it clear that the major depressive episode is more common in post partum period among various psychiatric morbidities. Early identification of potential risk factors may aid in recognition of and treatment for postpartum depression