Association between maternal anemia and postpartum depression
International Journal of Development Research
Association between maternal anemia and postpartum depression
Received 27th November, 2018; Received in revised form 22nd December, 2018; Accepted 09th January, 2019; Published online 27th February, 2019
Copyright © 2019, Dr. Maysaa Jasim Mohammed. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The aim of this prospective study was to determine the relationship between anemia during pregnancy and postpartum depression. Two hundred eighty-one non-anemic mothers with singleton and low-risk pregnancy and no history of antidepressant-use were studied. Demographic and reproductive data at week 24 were obtained. Mothers were followed up and hemoglobin (Hb) was checked at delivery. (20-24) Edinburgh postpartum. Depression Scale (EPDS) was completed 4-6 weeks after delivery. Mean age of the mothers was 26.6±4 years. The prevalence of postpartum depression according to EPDS was 5.5%. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that Hb <11 g/dl at delivery would increase the chance of postpartum depression (OR 4.64; 95% CI 1.33-16.08). The results show that diagnosis and treatment of physiologic factors, especially anemia, would reduce the risk of postpartum depression.
