Social Support in Pregnant Women and its Relationship with Birth Weight and Length and Postpartum Depression in Woman attending at Public Health Care Centers, Tabriz, 2012
چکیده
Background: Pregnancy is a critical stage of a woman’s life. Considering the dramatic increase of the need for social support during pregnancy, the present study aimed to determine the level of social support for pregnant women and its relationship with anthropometric indices at birth and postnatal depression in pregnant women who referred to health centers of Tabriz, Iran in 2013.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 450 women who were selected using two-stage cluster sampling. The subjects were interviewed and the suicide Mo graphic and social support questionnaires) ISEL) were completed at baseline (during pregnancy). Anthropometric measurements, including infant’s birth height and weight, were performed immediately after delivery. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was completed six weeks after delivery. Descriptive and analytical statistics, such as Pearson’s correlation analysis and t-test, were used for data analysis.
Results: The mean (standard deviation) score of social support was 69.6 (14.6) out of 0-90. Overall, 11.1% of the pregnant women had poor social support. The median postnatal depression score)percentile 25 to percentile 75( was significantly lower in mothers with adequate social support than in those with poor social support. There were no statistically significant relationships between social support and birth weight and height.
Conclusion: Since social support is effective on postnatal depression, improved maternal mental health will depend on enhanced social support from the family.