Screening for Mental Health Disorders among Pregnant Women Availing Antenatal Care at a Government Maternity Hospital in Bengaluru City

Abstract

Introduction: Antepartum anxiety and depression are two of the most common risk factors for the development of postpartum depression. Women are at a higher risk of developing depression and suffering from mental disorders during pregnancy and the postnatal period. Psychopathological symptoms during pregnancy have physiological consequences for the fetus, such as impaired blood flow leading to low birth weight, as well as cognitive delay and behavioral problems. Objectives: To screen antenatal women for common mental health disorders and to determine the factors associated with mental health disorders during pregnancy. Methods: A cross-sectional study among 208 pregnant mothers in the third trimester attending the antenatal clinic at a Government Maternity Home in a low-income urban area of Bengaluru was conducted using clinical interview schedule-revised (CIS-R) questionnaire as a screening tool for detecting the presence of mental morbidity. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Results: In the study population, 12 (5.8%) screened positive for antepartum mental morbidities, of which depression was the most common. 3.8% of all women screened positive for depression, with 15.4% demonstrating depressive symptoms. Overall, 82 (39.4%) had the presence of one or more psychological symptoms, including fatigue, irritability, anxiety, and problems with sleep and concentration but scored less than the CIS-R cutoff score of 12. Factors associated with the presence of antepartum mental morbidities included poor relationships with their spouse, poor/satisfactory relationship with siblings or in-laws, as well as the desire to have a male child. Conclusion: In the study population, 12 (5.8%) screened positive for antepartum mental morbidities. Considering the effects on quality of life for these women as well as poor fetal outcomes associated with maternal mental morbidity, it is important to include screening and treatment of mental morbidity as a part of routine antenatal care.

Prevalence of maternal antenatal anxiety and its association with demographic and socioeconomic factors: A multicentre study in Italy

“…These associations are clearly consistent with previous studies that found that antenatal anxiety was more prevalent in women with low education and/or low socioeconomic status (e.g., unemployment, financial adversity) [45][46][47][48][49] and might be related to the global economic crisis that currently affects, especially, southern nations [50]. Studies conducted in developing countries, where low education and low socioeconomic status are both present, highlight the association with prenatal anxiety [51][52][53].…”

Proportion of depression and its risk factors among antenatal women attending maternal and child health clinic in teaching hospital, GIMS, Gadag

“…92.1% were housewives, majority (33.9%) of spouses of the pregnant mothers completed high school and the spouses of over half of the respondents (51.8%) were semi-skilled workers. Majority (33.5%) of the study subjects belonged to Lower class followed by 28.1% Upper middle class and 26.5% to Upper lower class by modified B. G. Prasad socio-economic classification [13] (Table 1), the findings were in contrast to the study done by Johnson, et al [14] were majority (40.4%) belonged to socioeconomic class II by B G Prasad classification. According to Edinburg Depression Scale, 19 (10.3%) antenatal women who had score equal to or more than 13 were screened positive for depression and 166 (89.7%) antenatal women with score less than 13 were not depressed (Table 3), it was less than the 16% depression reported in India by Chandra et al [15] and 35.7% in the study done by Sheeba et al [12] .…”

Associations Between Fear of COVID-19, Mental Health, and Preventive Behaviours Across Pregnant Women and Husbands: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Modelling

“…The prevalence rate of depression among pregnant women of low-and lower-middle-income countries has been estimated to be 15.6% (Fisher et al 2012). This usually occurs with other mental health problems and stressors or poor relationship quality with close family members including husbands (Johnson et al 2018). Although these previous studies mainly focused on pregnant women, few studies have simultaneously explored fathers' mental health when their wives are pregnant (Nasreen et al 2018;Wee et al 2011).…”