Identifying Risk Factors and Role of Counselling on Psychological Well-being of Mothers with Postpartum Depression

Abstract

This study aims to identify the cause of postpartum depression and see the effect of counseling on mothers suffering from postpartum depression (PPD). A total of 91 women were assessed during the first seven months of their babies. The validated Bangla version of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to measure PPD. To identify the cause of the PPD, some information was collected online. It has found that 46.2% of the mother was suffering from postpartum depression. Marital status, depression, unplanned pregnancy, mental stress during pregnancy, and physical complications significantly correlate with postpartum depression. Individual counselling session were provided to mothers with PPD. Counselling session was provided for five consecutive weeks, and feedbacks were taken after that. The session was designed by the researcher based on Transactional Analysis, Person-Centered Therapy, and relaxation techniques. The effect of counselling was measured with the comparison of pretest and posttest of postpartum depression and general health questionnaire score. These two scales assessed the maternal and overall health of the mother. After providing the session, it has found that the mean difference of PPD was 5.211 and GHQ became 4.053 which showed significant improvement. The result of the study showed that the role of counselling is essential for the psychological well-being of the mother.