Page 189 - EJMO-9-2

Eurasian Journal of Medicine

and Oncology

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Prevalence of postpartum depression and

associated factors among women attending
primary health care centers in Baghdad

Mayasah Sadiq , Alaa A. Salih* , Najlaa F. Jamil , Ali T. Khalifa ,
Mustafa K. Lafta , and Mohammed S. Abd
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Al-Mustansiriyah University,
Baghdad, Iraq

Abstract
Although it usually appears in the first 4 weeks after delivery, postpartum depression
(PPD) is a form of depression that can strike at any time within a year after childbirth.
Generally, the symptoms of PPD subside after 3 months of giving birth. The risk
factors should be identified to determine the prevalence of PPD. In this study, we
conducted a cross-sectional survey in which women (n = 400) attending four main
healthcare facilities in Baghdad, Iraq, who were in 6 – 8 weeks postpartum, were
recruited from January 18 to February 25, 2024. Systematic random sampling was
used to select the participants. The Edinburg Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS)
was employed to assess the symptoms of PPD, with a cutoff score of ≥ 12. Among
*Corresponding author: the 400 participants in the study, 202 (50.5%) of the participants complained of
Alaa Ali Salih
(alaa.ali@uomustansiriyah.edu.iq) having PPD. Approximately 216 (54%) of the participants were between the ages of
20 and 29, and 320 (80%) of them were housewives. This analysis found a significant
Citation: Sadiq M, Salih AA,
Jamil NF, Khalifa AT, Lafta MK, association of PPD occurrence with the level of education (p = 0.018), complications
Abd MS. Prevalence of postpartum that happened to the mothers during or after delivery (p = 0.0001), preference of
depression and associated factors the sex of the last baby (p = 0.014), family support after delivery (p = 0.001), quality
among women attending primary
health care centers in Baghdad. of relationship with their partners (p = 0.006), and previous symptoms of depression
Eurasian J Med Oncol. before or during the past pregnancy (p = 0.0001). Nearly half of the women suffer
2025;9(2):181-189. from PPD during their puerperium, and it is substantially linked to the child’s
doi: 10.36922/ejmo.8528
sex, postpartum difficulties, history of depressive disorders, and lack of parental
Received: January 14, 2025 assistance. Half of the participants suffered from PPD, significantly associated
Revised: February 19, 2025 with a lack of education, family support, maternal complications, and undesirable
newborn sex.
Accepted: March 13, 2025
Published online: April 7, 2025
Keywords: Prevalence; Women; Depression; Postpartum
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, 1. Introduction
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is Depression is a prevalent mental disorder, characterized by a chronically low mood
properly cited. or a loss of interest and enjoyment of engaging with activities. Regular emotions and
Publisher’s Note: AccScience mood swings, which are a part of our everyday life, manifest differently in depression.
Publishing remains neutral with Depression can impact various facets of life and relationships with friends, family,
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional and the community. Based on statistics, approximately 280 million (3.8%) of people
affiliations. worldwide suffer from depression. 1

Volume 9 Issue 2 (2025) 181 doi: 10.36922/ejmo.8528