Depressed mood in pregnancy : prevalence and social factors in Cape Town peri-urban settlements

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of antenatal distress in Cape Town periurbansettlements, and the social factors associated with it in this population. Participants were 756pregnant women from Khayelitsha and Mfuleni, Cape Town. Each women was interviewed in herhome language using a structured questionnaire which included the Edinburgh PostnatalDepression Scale (EPDS), measures for social support and alcohol use, and questions concerningsocio-demographics, intimate partner violence, and the current pregnancy. A threshold score of 14and above on the EPDS was used to determine antenatal distress. Data were analysed usingdescriptive statistics and bivariate analysis initially, followed by multivariate logistical regression.Results indicated a prevalence of 46% for antenatal distress, which is substantially greater than theprevalence found in high income countries. Women in their first trimester of pregnancy were morelikely to experience antenatal distress than were women in their second and third trimesters. Thestrongest predictors of antenatal distress were poor partner support, intimate partner violence andhaving a household income below R2000 per month. The high prevalence found in this study hasharmful implications for infant health in South Africa, and is reason to suggest that early screeningand intervention is crucial. More research is needed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness andscalability of community-based interventions for maternal depression in South African peri-urbansettlements, as well as to establish the specific infant outcomes of antenatal distress in thispopulation.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University