Depression, anxiety and its associated factors among pregnant women

Pregnancy is a unique period where there is a physical as well as psychological changes. Pregnant women are more vulnerable to depression, anxiety, stress, and psychosis. Globally around 10% of women during pregnancy experience mental disorders, particularly depression. Anxiety and depression are not only affecting women’s health but also have an impact on labor and the postpartum period. Literature suggests that interventions like cesarean section and epidural analgesia during labor are more common among women who had high anxiety and fear during pregnancy. It was also found that an increase in anxiety and depression during pregnancy is associated with postpartum depression, low-birth-weight babies, reduced odds of breastfeeding, and infant negative behavioral reactivity. There is a paucity of studies on depression, anxiety, and its associated factors among pregnant women in North -East region of India. So, this study aims to estimate depression, anxiety, and its associated factors among pregnant women in Tezpur, Assam.

A descriptive research design with a quantitative approach will be used for the study. The study will be conducted at Kanaklata civil hospital and selected subcenters in and around Tezpur. Pregnant women in Tezpur will be the population for the study. A total of 333 antenatal women will be included in the study through purposive sampling techniques. A self-structured sociodemographic and clinical proforma, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale will be used to collect data on the variables. The tools will be translated to Assamese. Informed consent after proper explanation and assurance of confidentiality and anonymity will be obtained before data collection. After getting the ethical clearance the tools will be applied and the results will be analyzed. Frequency and percentage distribution will be used to describe the demographic data and the Regression analysis will be done to determine the association.