Association between Perceived Social Support and Postpartum Depression in Turkey

Aims: The purpose of this study was to find out the association between perceived social support and postpartum depression.
Study Design: This study was a cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: The cross-sectional study was carried out in Manisa, a city in western part of Turkey.
Methodology: Two hundred eighty seven postpartum women were included in the study using stratified sampling from the records of 11 primary health care centers in Manisa city centre. Depression and social support were measured using, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.
Results: It was found that the point prevalence of post partum depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale total score >12) was 13.5%. Smoking, pregnancy number, social support from family and from a significant other predicted postpartum depression, but baby’s gender, family type, perceived family income, educational level, occupation, having a health insurance, antenatal care, unwanted pregnancy and social support from friends did not.
Conclusion: Postpartum depression is a public health problem in Turkey and social support from family and from a significant other is associated with postpartum depression. This finding highlights that there is a need to address this unmet need in planning interventions. But prevalence rate of postpartum depression and differential effects of risk factors on postpartum depression vary substantially among countries and regions, this should be taken into consideration when planning interventions for postpartum depression.