MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AND DELIVERY RELATED PRACTICES

Abstract

Background: Maternal mental health problems are one of the major public health challenges. Recent
studies on low and middle income countries reported that the prevalence of maternal mental problem
ranges from 10-41%.
Objectives: To determine the prevalence and determinants of maternal common mental disorders (CMD) among the study
population.
Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, from July 2016 to Dec 2016,
among 164 women who had ≥ 1 children in the age group of 0-23 months. A WHO pre-qualied questionnaire SRQ20 (Self
Reporting Questionnaire 20) was used to assess the mental health of mothers. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS version
22.
Results: Among 164, 85(51.8%) were positive for Common mental disorders (CMD). Maternal CMD was signicantly
associated with low socio economic status, low education, high parity among mothers. CMD was also signicantly higher
among mothers who choose institutional delivery over home delivery.
Conclusions: Maternal Mental health problems are neglected in our country. Measures for early identication, treatment and
prevention of maternal mental disorders should be taken.