PREVALENCE AND CORRELATES OF PRENATAL DEPRESSION AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINICS IN IKEJA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, LAGOS STATE

Prenatal depression is a critical public health problem because of its intergenerational impact on the mother, infants, and children. The risk of prenatal depression increases significantly as the pregnancy progresses and clinically significant depressive symptoms are common in the mid and late trimester. The prevalence rates of prenatal depression differ between high, middle and low— income countries. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence and correlates of prenatal depression among pregnant women in Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among 422 pregnant women sampled using a 30- item questionnaire that was divided into four sections. Section A of the questionnaire contains the socio demographic characteristics of the respondents. Section B contains a validated 13-item knowledge questionnaire with Cronbach alpha 0.65 that was used to assess respondents’ level of knowledge. Section C of the questionnaire was a validated 6- item interpersonal question with Cronbach alpha 0.85 that was used to assess respondent’s social support. Section D of the questionnaire used a 6-item socio-cultural questionnaire with Cronbach alpha 0.85 to assess respondent’s-cultural factors. Respondents’ knowledge was measured on a 10-points rating scale and divided into low (0-4.9), and high (5.0-10.0). The respondent’s interpersonal factor was measured on a 18-points rating scale and divided into negative (0-9), and positive (10-18). Respondents’ socio-cultural factor was measured on a 12-points rating scale and categorized into low (0-6), and high (6-12). Data collected was analyzed into descriptive and inferential statistics using IBM SPSS Version 23. All hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The result showed that 403 respondents completely and accurately filled the questionnaire giving a response rate of 95.7%. The respondents were within the age group of 17-45 years. The result revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 30.63±6.47. One hundred and eighty six (46.2%) of the respondents were within the age bracket of 28-38 years. The result showed that the respondent’s knowledge mean score was 7.98±1.95. Three hundred and eighty eight (94.3%) of the respondents had high level of knowledge regarding prenatal depression Respondents’ interpersonal factor mean score was 12.40±3.89. More than half (312; 77.4%) of the respondents had high interpersonal factors. Respondents’ socio-cultural mean score was 6.22±2.25. The result revealed that less than half (177; 43.9%) of the respondents had high socio-cultural factors regarding to prenatal depression. Respondents’ prenatal depression mean score was 2.88±1.20. The prevalence of prenatal depression was 72%. There was a statistical relationship between knowledge and interpersonal factor (r2 =0.19 p < 0.001). There was a statistically significant relationship between knowledge and prevalence of prenatal depression (r2 =0.82 p < 0.001). The study found high knowledge of prenatal depression among the respondents; the prevalence of prenatal depression was also found to be high. The respondents had high interpersonal factors. However, more than half of the respondents had low socio-cultural factors. Government and hospital management should introduce screening for depression as part of routine antenatal assessments in both public and private health facilities. Keywords: Individual Factors, Interpersonal Factors, Socio-Cultural Factors, Prenatal Depression, Prevalence. Word Count: 504