Frequency of perinatal depression in Serbia and associated risk factors

Abstract

Objective: To screen 212 women for depression symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum in Serbia. Methods: Questionnaires that covered key demographic and obstetric information and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were administered at the third trimester of pregnancy and at 8 weeks postpartum. Results: In all, 21% of the sample was screened as depression positive during pregnancy. Subsequently, efforts were made to follow up 195 women through postpartum. Of the 195 women, 11% were screened positive during postpartum. Risk factors were low education level, low satisfaction with financial situation, high-risk pregnancy and depression during pregnancy. Logistic regression with backward elimination showed that women who had high-risk pregnancy have threefold increased risk of postpartum depression, and women who had antenatal depressive symptoms have 10-fold increased risk of postpartum depression. Conclusion: In countries where screening tool for depression is not applied routinely in obstetrics settings, clinicians should be aware of risk factors, frequency and level of depressive symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum. © The Author(s) 2013.