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

Abstract

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.