Frequency of perinatal depression in Serbia and associated risk factors

To screen 212 women for depression symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum in Serbia.

Questionnaires that covered key demographic and obstetric information and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were administered at the third trimester of pregnancy and at 8 weeks postpartum.

In all, 21% of the sample was screened as depression positive during pregnancy. Subsequently, efforts were made to follow up 195 women through postpartum. Of the 195 women, 11% were screened positive during postpartum. Risk factors were low education level, low satisfaction with financial situation, high-risk pregnancy and depression during pregnancy. Logistic regression with backward elimination showed that women who had high-risk pregnancy have threefold increased risk of postpartum depression, and women who had antenatal depressive symptoms have 10-fold increased risk of postpartum depression.

In countries where screening tool for depression is not applied routinely in obstetrics settings, clinicians should be aware of risk factors, frequency and level of depressive symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum.