Depression symptoms among pregnant women cared for in a maternity shelter

Abstract

The occurrence of depression symptoms during pregnancy presents significant effects on maternal, fetal, and infant health. This study aims at identifying the prevalence of depression symptoms in pregnant women cared for in a maternity shelter as well at verifying the socio-demographic, obstetric and psychosocial factors associated with it. It is a cross-sectional study with 75 women over 18 years old sheltered in a maternity hospital at Sao Paulo. Data was collected between October 2009 and August 2010. The prevalence of depression symptoms was assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) considering the score 10 to 12 for minor symptoms and ≥ 13 for major ones. Reliability was calculated by Cronbach's Alpha. Pearson's and Spearman's correlation test were used to identify factors that influence the presence of depression symptoms. The pregnant women presented the following characteristics: the average age was 25.1 years; 52% were non-Caucasian; an average of 8.5 years of schooling, 41.4% were Catholic; 73.3% experienced physical violence and 62.7% emotional abuse; 58.7% were smokers; 46.7% used alcoholic beverages occasionally; 57.3% had three or more children; 74.7% reported two or more obstetric complaints; median gestational age was 25 weeks; 86 7% accepted the pregnancy. Only 25.3% of the pregnant women did not present depression symptoms; 12.0% presented minor symptoms and 62.7% major symptoms. The gestational age was the only variable that indicated a statistically significant association with depressive symptoms. In conclusion, the high prevalence of pregnant women with depression symptoms highlights the need for mental health care from the beginning of pregnancy for the prevention of postpartum depression.