Depression at 2 Months Postpartum

Estimate nationwide postpartum depression (PPD) at 2 months prevalence and its related risk factors. The representative study sample comprised 7,133 women who were included in a national perinatal population- based survey of all women who gave birth in France in March 2021. Data on maternal characteristics, course of pregnancy/delivery, and child's health were collected from face-to-face interviews in maternity wards and/or medical records and a self-questionnaire (including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale [EPDS]) at 2 months postpartum. Women with an EPDS score ≥13 were considered to have PPD. Poisson regression models with robust variance were used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) for PPD. PPD prevalence at 2 months was 16.7% (95% CI, [15.7-17.7]). Factors significantly associated with PPD were (1) age ≤29 or ≥40 years (maximum aPR=1.41 95% CI, [1.12-1.77] obtained for 15- to 24-year-olds vs 35- to 39-year-olds); (2) being born in North Africa (1.29 [1.02-1.64] vs France); (3) having a lower level of health literacy (1.23 [1.14-1.35]); (4) having a history of psychological (1.45 [1.24-1.69]) or psychiatric (1.52 [1.23-1.88]) care since adolescence (vs none); (5) receiving little/ no support or good support during pregnancy (1.80 [1.52-2.14] and 1.31 [1.15-1.48] vs receiving very good support); (6) reporting feelings of sadness (1.92 [1.65-2.25]), anhedonia (1.69 [1.36-2.11]), or both (2.61 [2.26-3.01]) during pregnancy (vs none of these feelings); and (7) having had an instrumental vaginal delivery (1.18 [1.01-1.38] vs spontaneous vaginal delivery). These findings on PPD (prevalence and profile of women at higher risk) could guide clinicians and policies on early identification and preventive support for women in the perinatal period.