Prevalence and predictors of postpartum depression among women attending clinics in Gaborone

Untreated postpartum depression (PPD) has the potential to cause significant distress or impairment in functioning with a consequent negative impact on a developing child.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of PPD and its associated factors in women attending postpartum primary care clinics.

The study setting involved randomly selected three 24-h clinics in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 295 conveniently sampled postpartum mothers. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) questionnaire, researcher-designed socio-demographic questions and the Oslo Social Support Scale 3 (OSSS-3) were utilised to collect data on the PPD, demographic factors and social support, respectively. Variables identified to be associated with PPD on bivariate analyses were entered into multivariate analysis to determine factors associated with PPD.

The prevalence of PPD was 33.9% (95% CI 28.5% - 39.6%). Factors predictive of PPD included the history of being involved in intimate partner violence (AOR = 4.789 95% CI [2.276-10.077]), poor relationship with the partner's mother (AOR 2.657, [1.080-6.538]), poor and moderate social support (AOR 2.685 [1.013-7.111] and AOR 5.897 [2.140-16.248]), respectively.

The high prevalence of PPD highlights the need for routine screening for PPD and its associated factors in antenatal and postnatal clinics. Continued practice of traditional postpartum cultural practices can be recommended as these promote social support and can potentially decrease PPD in our setting.

This is the first study to report on the prevalence and factors associated with PPD in Botswana, thus useful in tailoring culturally appropriate interventions.