A study to assess the level of depression among the postnatal mothers at SRM rural health centre, Mamandur

Postnatal mothers may present depression symptoms due to physical, psychological, social changes during postnatal period. Postnatal depression is a common frequent psychiatric disorder seen after childbirth, The aim of this study was to identify the level of depression among the postnatal mothers. A quantitative approach and the descriptive research design was adopted for the study. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to assess the level of depression among postnatal mothers. The major findings of the study revealed that among 80 postnatal mothers, 65 (81.3%) mothers were in the stage of suicidal thoughts and 15 (18.7%) mothers were in the stage of depression. There was statistical significant association found between the level of depression among postnatal mothers with their demographic variables like Education at (χ²=11.13, P=0.004), occupation at (χ²=7.84, P=0.005), Income at (χ²=9.11, P=0.003), Socioeconomic status at (χ²=15.11, P=0.000) and clinical variable like Type of delivery at (χ²=6.42, P=0.011). There is no association with respect to other variables. Conclusion: The researcher emphasizes the need for more research to reduce the level of depression among postnatal mothers and by applying the research finding for future.