Quality of life of women depressed in the post-partum period Calidad de vida de mujeres deprimidas en el posparto

Abstract

Background: Depression is common among women, specially during breeding. Aim: To characterize post-partum depression in a group of women attending a primary health care clinic and its relationship to quality of life. Material and methods: The sample included women meeting criteria for Major Depression, with a child of up to 11 months old. Exclusion criteria included the presence of psychosis, history of mania, alcohol abuse, illegal drug use, high suicide risk, and receiving mental health care in the last three months. Structured interviews used were the Edinburgh postpartum depression scale (EPDS), Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire (SF-36) and questions about incapacity and health care use. Results: The sample included 159 women with a median age of 27 years (range: 16-43 years). Thirty three percent were married, 30.8% lived in common law marriage, 9.4% were divorced, and 26.4% were single. Most (89.3%) were housewives, 31% wer