Prevalence and associated factors of perinatal depression among working pregnant women: a hospital-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Perinatal depression is a major public health problem having serious negative impacts on personal, family, and child developmental outcomes. This  study aimed to determine the prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) and its associated factors in working pregnant women. This  descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed on 389 working pregnant women enrolled from four Tunisian public maternity hospitals. Data  collection tools were the sociodemographic, obstetric, family relationships, and work environment questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic  Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The mean score of depression was 27.39 ± 6.97 and 76.1% of women had major depressive symptoms using cutoff  points on the CES-D ≥ 23. Family income, diagnosis with a chronic illness, history of depression, and employment categories were associated  with major depressive symptoms. In multivariate analyses, family income and work posture were significantly associated with MDD. These results  suggest an increased burden of MDD during pregnancy in Tunisian women. Prevention, early detection, and interventions are needed to reduce the  prevalence of perinatal depression.