The Frequency of Depression and its Related Factors in Pregnant Women: A Case Study of Women Visiting the Health Centers Affiliated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2017

Depression is one of the common problems during pregnancy that can have adverse effects on the fetus and mother and even after delivery can adversely affect the baby and mother. To this end, this study aimed to determine the frequency of depression and its related factors in women in the third trimester of pregnancy visiting the health centers affiliated with the Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017 in health centers affiliated with the Kerman University of Medical Sciences. The participants were pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy who were selected using convenience sampling. The data in this study were collected using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The collected data were analyzed with SPSS software (version 22).

The frequency of depression in women in the third trimester of pregnancy was 12.7%. The frequency of depression was higher in the age group of over 30 years, the age of the spouse under 30 years, the age at the time of marriage over 20 years, housewives, the first pregnancy, and in planned pregnancy. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the young age of the spouse was associated with a significant increase in depression during pregnancy (adjusted OR = 13.72, 95% CI: 2.60-27.72, P-value = 0.002).

Given the relatively high prevalence of depression in pregnant women in the third trimester, screening and identification of these women are very important. Furthermore, organizing training courses on depression for women and their husbands and effective behavioral and treatment solutions should be considered one of the priorities of health centers.