The Prevalence of Postpartum Depression and Its Association with Food Insecurity among Mothers Referring to Community Health Centers

Objective: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a condition which may compromise both maternal and neonatal health. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of PPD and its association with demographic, socioeconomic, obstetric, and household food security status. Method : This cross sectional study was conducted in community health centers in west of Tehran. A total of 325 women were selected by stratified sampling method from community health centers. A sociodemographic questionnaire, USDA 18-item questionnaire, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and analytic analyses, such as chi-squared test and logistic regression in SPSS 22. Results: The prevalence of PPD and food insecurity among the studied population was 35.4% and 34.2%, respectively. The results of this study revealed a significant association among PPD  and food insecurity (OR = 6.690, CI  =  3.118-14.353, p<0.001), the levels of economic satisfaction (OR  =  3.419, CI  =  1.241-9.420, P  =  0.017), pregnancy loss (OR  =  1.899, CI  =  1.006-3.582, p  =  0.048), and pregnancy complications (OR  =  1.853, CI  =  1.083-3.170, P  =  0.024). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, household food insecurity may predispose mothers to PPD. Moreover, it was observed that mothers with poor economic satisfaction were more likely to be depressed. Histories of pregnancy loss and pregnancy complications were other risk factors for PPD.