DEPRESSION STATUS AMONG THE FEMALES DURING THE FIRST POSTPARTUM PERIOD AT CLINICAL SETTINGS OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTRES IN ARAR CITY, SAUDI ARABIA.

Background: Postpartum depression is one of the most common, but often unrecognized, complications of childbirth and is considered as a serious psychological disorder that can affect women during or after birth and during pregnancy. Its risk increases during the ?rst 90 days and can last up to nearly two years. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) and correlate it with variables of obstetric and demographic predictors among females attending primary health care centres in Arar city. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study carried out by using Arabic version of questionnaire of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) tool during the study period from August to September 2021. A total of 383 sample was taken by using convenience sampling method. Analysis was done by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Results: The prevalence of postpartum depression was 30.5%. Multiple associated factors were found to be signi?cantly increase the risk of PPD such as: females who had caesarean section delivery, unplanned pregnancy, complicated pregnancy, their baby had medical problem and had no or less husband support, had psychiatric disorders, had chronic medical problem, taking chronic medication, had life stressor, low education and low income (P < 0.05). The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that the odds of PPD signi?cantly increase in females had caesarean section delivery compared to vaginal delivery (P = .002), females had rare support from the husband (P = .002), females had psychiatric disorders (P = 0.016) and had life stressor (P = .000). Conclusions: The prevalence of postpartum depression in the city of Alar was clearly high. Our study also showed important predictors that could be used to identify high-risk females. It is advisable to provide social support to females during both prenatal and postnatal periods. Regular screening of women for postpartum depression should be encouraged for early detection and prompt intervention