Postpartum Depression: Mental Health Literacy of Indian Mothers

Background: Postpartum depression is a significant public health issue. It is important to understand new mothers' awareness on depression during the postpartum period.

Aim: This study was aimed to understand the postpartum depression literacy of postpartum women.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey carried out among randomly selected mothers (N = 279) attending a paediatric tertiary care center. The data was collected through face-to-face interview technique using a structured questionnaire.

Results: Our findings revealed that merely 50.7% of the postpartum mothers had an adequate level of knowledge on postpartum depression. Postpartum depression literacy was significantly associated with participants' age (P < 0.01), income (p < 0.006) and occupational status (P = 0.013).

Conclusion: The findings of the present study highlight specific gaps in postpartum depression literacy which may compromise the help-seeking behaviours of postpartum mothers. The findings also suggest an urgent need to sensitize women about postpartum depression.