Postpartum depression and anxiety among mothers of preterm neonates in western Kenya

Abstract

Background/Aims

Taking care of a preterm neonate can be stressful for a mother, given the baby's illness and lower survival rate. As medical needs for the preterm neonate take centre stage in the newborn unit, the mother and her role can be overshadowed, resulting in neglect of her physical and emotional needs. This may lead to postpartum depression and anxiety; if undetected and untreated, this can result in maternal dysfunction, which can also adversely affect the neonate. However, few studies have been carried out on the effect of preterm neonates on mothers' psychological state in low-resource countries. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of and sociodemographic characteristics associated with postpartum depression and anxiety in mothers of preterm neonates, and to determine mothers' perceptions towards nurses' support. Methods

This was a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study involving 262 mothers with preterm neonates, who were selected using systematic random sampling. Data were collected using the self-reporting Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Beck's Anxiety Inventory and the Nurse Parent Support Tool. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 24.0. Descriptive statistics used included frequencies and percentages, while inferential statistics to determine associations between categorical variables involved the chi-square test. P≤0.05 was considered significant. Results

The prevalence of postpartum depression and anxiety was 65.5% and 63.3% respectively. A significant association existed between depression and marital status (P=0.049) and also level of education (P=0.035). There was also a significant association between anxiety and age (P=0.049), education (P=0.009) and occupation (P=012). Almost a third (31.7%) of participants indicated that nurses were not helpful in allaying their worries and 28.2% reported that nurses were not concerned regarding their feeding and sleep. Conclusions

The prevalence of postpartum depression and anxiety was higher among single, young or teenage mothers with a low level of education and low socioeconomic status. Unfortunately, it seemed that the mental wellbeing of mothers with preterm babies was not a priority for most nurses attending to their babies. The authors recommend that nurses' roles are expanded to include screening for postpartum depression and anxiety, and providing psychosocial support to mothers of preterm neonates who are hospitalised in the newborn unit.