A STUDY OF POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION IN MOTHERS OF PRETERM INFANTS

Abstract

Background: The postpartum depression (PPD) is a typical psychiatric condition among women after they have given birth. It is related to the maternal functioning impairment, poor mater-infant attachment, and poor developmental outcome. The mother of premature infants can undergo further emotional stress due to the illness of the child in the NICU, his/her admission to NICU, financial burden, and the disrupted process of attachment. In Pakistan, there is a paucity of evidence on this association.

Objective: To determine the association of postpartum depression with birth of preterm infants in tertiary care hospital setting.

Methodology: It was a prospective cohort study which was carried out in the Hameed Latif Hospital/Arif Memorial Teaching Hospital, Lahore from January 2026 to April 2026. The mothers that were recruited were 120 mothers, 60 mothers of preterm babies (less than 37 weeks gestation time) and 60 mothers of term babies (more than 37 weeks gestation time). Recruitment was done using women aged between 18-45 years of age and who presented with six weeks postpartum. Mothers who either currently had or had had chronic illness of psychiatric illness, multiple pregnancy, neonatal deaths, congenital anomalies, severe obstetric complications or chronic medical illness were excluded. The structured proforma and validated Urdu version of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were used to collect data. The positive screening of PPD was reflected in a score of ≥10.

Results: It was expected that the rate of postpartum depression among mothers of preterm babies would be significantly high as opposed to the rate among mothers of term babies. The relative risk was assumed to assume a value greater than 1 i.e. the exposed population would be more vulnerable.

Conclusion: Diagnosis of postpartum depression in mothers of preterm babies would aid in diagnosing the psychological screening and intervention in time. The combination of the maternal mental health assessment in the neonatal and postnatal service may have a more positive outcome in tertiary care of Pakistan.