A Cross-Sectional Study On The Depression Status Of The Postpartum Puerperas And Their Husbands

Objective To find out the depression status of the postartum puerperas and their husbands, to analyse the main risk factors of postpartum depression and discuss the effect of newborns' parents depression to their parenting behaviour, thereby provide a scientific evidence for the mental health of the parents and the growth and development of the infants.Methods 254 puerperas within 14 to 21 days of their postpartum as well as their husbands were measured of their mood through BDI-Ⅱand self-made the influlencing factor_s of postpartum depression questionnaires, parenting behaviour questionnaires. Comparisons were made through rank sum test between the incidences and degrees of depression experienced by puerperas and their husbands. Rank correlation analysis was done to decide whether there was correlation between the puerperas' degrees of depression and those of their husbands'. Uni-variate analysis was carried out on the factor_s likely to affect depression degree of the puerpera couples and the risk factor_s of postpartum depression were explored by unconditional and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Parenting behavior differences between the newborns' parents with or without postpartum depression were compared through chi square test.Results The incidences of maternal and paternal depression were 68.1%(173/254)and 43.7% (111/254 ) respectively, and there was a positive relationship between postpartum couples. Logistic regression analysis showed that the major risk factors for postpartum maternal depression were their low level of education and being unable to bear the pain in delivery while low level of education and being unsatisfied with the housing conditions were the major risk factors for paternal depression. The differences of parenting behaviour between maternal depression and maternal non-depression were not statistically significance (P> 0.05),but the differences of the tiredness of baby crying, looking for cry's reasons, teasing baby, speaking with baby between paternal depression and paternal non-depression were statistically significance (P﹤0.05).There were a positive relationship on tiredness of baby crying, looking for cry's reasons, speaking with baby between the newborns' parents.Conclusion Postpartum depression is a significant problem in both the mothers and the fathers of newborns,besides,the depression of the fathers are related to their negative parenting behaviour.The services and the research scope of the postpartum health care,therefore,should be expanded.The spouse's mental health should be assessed as far as the physiological health stage of the puerpera and the newborns being concerned. Interventional measures against the risk factors of depression to prevent the occurrence of postpartum depression should be taken.