Depressive Symptoms in Postpartum Women Receiving Outpatient Care: Prevalence, Severity, and Associated Clinical Characteristics in a Six-Month Analysis

Objectives: Postpartum depression (PPD) significantly affects the well-being of both mothers and their children. Exploring how clinical characteristics relate to depressive symptom severity can aid in refining screening strategies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the severity and prevalence of depressive symptoms, along with the clinical characteristics of women attending postpartum outpatient care.

Materials and Methods: All women older than 18 years who attended the outpatient unit at Riga Maternity Hospital 4–6 weeks after delivery were screened using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Respondents with scores of ≥5 were classified into two groups for analysis: mild depressive symptoms (scores 5-9) and moderate-to-severe symptoms (scores ≥10). Clinical data were retrieved from medical records. Differences in PHQ-9 score distributions across clinical factors were analysed using chi-square tests.

Results: Data from 144 women aged 20–49 years (30.56±5.68) were collected over half a year. Among participants, PHQ-9 scores revealed 26.4% with mild and 11.8% with moderate-to-severe symptoms. The type of delivery showed a trend toward statistical significance (p=0.159), with a higher frequency of severe depressive symptoms in women who underwent emergency caesarean sections (13.2% in 5-9 group vs. 35.3% in ≥10 group). Breastfeeding status exhibited no significant differences (p=0.864), with similar distributions between groups. Women with ≥3 pregnancies and ≥2 abortions in their medical history more frequently experienced severe symptoms of depression (41.2% and 23.5%, respectively), though results were not significant (p=0.614; p=0.195). Differences in the number of deliveries between the groups also lacked statistical significance (p=0.482).

Conclusions: Despite this study revealed no statistically significant associations between clinical characteristics and depressive symptom severity, trends like higher symptom severity in women with emergency caesarean sections or a history of ≥3 pregnancies and ≥2 abortions warrant further research. Larger studies are needed to refine postpartum depression screening and intervention strategies.