Demographic factors predicting psychological distress among pregnant women in a selected teaching hospital in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated Demographic factors predicting psychological distress among pregnant women in a selected General Hospital. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Participants consisted of one -hundred and eighty-four pregnant women using a convenient sampling technique to select the participants. The results showed a 16.2% prevalence of depression and 17.5% for anxiety among pregnant women. The age ranges from 23-39 years with a mean of 29.87, SD 2.48. The revealed that age, duration of marriage, duration of waiting jointly predicted anxiety (F (3,183) = 11.788; p<.01). There was significant independent prediction of age (β= .245 p<.01) and duration of marriage (β=.172 p<.05) on anxiety while duration of waiting (β= .123 p>.05) had no significant independent influence on anxiety.  Also, age, duration of marriage, duration of waiting jointly predicted depression [F (3,183) = 21.562; p<.01]. Age (β= -.158 p<.05) and duration of marriage (β= -.393 p<.01) had significant independent influence on depression while duration of waiting (β= -.072 p>.05) had no significant independent influence on anxiety.  Individual with positive history of abortion experiences increased level of depression compared to those that did not have any positive history of abortion [t (182) = -3.989 p<.05]. Pregnant women who plan their pregnancy experiences reduced level of depression compared to those who did not plan their pregnancy [t (182) = 2.687 p<.01]. It is, therefore, recommending that there is need to incorporate mental health components in RCH (Reproductive & Child Health) program for pregnant women.