Postpartum depression: Mental health literacy of Indian mothers

Postpartum depression is a significant public health issue. It is important to understand new mothers' awareness on depression during the postpartum period.

This study was aimed to understand the postpartum depression literacy of postpartum women.

This was a cross-sectional survey carried out among randomly selected mothers (N = 279) attending a paediatric tertiary care center. The data was collected through face-to-face interview technique using a structured questionnaire.

Our findings revealed that merely 50.7% of the postpartum mothers had an adequate level of knowledge on postpartum depression. Postpartum depression literacy was significantly associated with participants' age (P < 0.01), income (p < 0.006) and occupational status (P = 0.013).

The findings of the present study highlight specific gaps in postpartum depression literacy which may compromise the help-seeking behaviours of postpartum mothers. The findings also suggest an urgent need to sensitize women about postpartum depression.