Nursing Mother’s Perception of Mental Health and Information-Seeking Behavour Towards Postpartum Depression in Osogbo Local Government, Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

There’s alarming rise in postpartum depression (PPD) among nursing mothers in every part of Southwest Nigeria within the first three months postpartum. Therefore, this study assessed the nursing mother’s perception of PPD and information-seeking behavour in Osogbo Local Government, Osun State.

 A cross-sectional study design that adopted multistage sampling technique to enroll two hundred and fifty nursing mothers from thirteen health facilities in the study location. Data collected through a validated interviewer-administered questionnaire were analyzed and presented using simple Frequency, correlation, and binary logistic regression.

The mean-age of the mothers was 29.3±5.4 years and the mean knowledge-score was 10.3±3.9, while the mean perception score was 7.9±4.1. Many (59.6%) had an unfavorable perception of PPD and a high Help-seeking intention toward PPD. There’s perceived severity of PPD with a mean score of 3.0±2.3 on a 6-point rating scale. Their level of education had a significant relationship with Help-seeking intention toward PPD (X2=19.1; p=0.004). There was a significant association between Respondents perception and Help-seeking intention towards PPD (R= 0.32; R2=0.092; p-value =0.000) and Help-seeking intention toward PPD.

In conclusion, there exists statistically significant association between respondents’ perception of PPD and Help-seeking intentions with unfavorable perceptions odd ratio of 1.7 times more likely to intend to seek for healthcare (Odds ratio=1.67; CI: 0.96- 2.90; p=0.03) implying that nursing mothers intend to seek help for PPD, it is recommended that midwives should include health talks on PPD during antenatal and postnatal visits, to enlighten women and help them recognize PPD for early intervention