Psycho-Sexual Risk Factors of Postpartum Depression:A Retrospective Study on Women from Rural and Urban Areas of Coimbatore, Tamilnadu

All forms of interpersonal violence, including sexual assault and physical abuse, are associated with depression, especially in girls and women. In particular, researchers have focused on a history of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) which is strongly associated with adult women's depression. But there was no research has been focused on a history of childhood sexual abuse in relation with Postpartum Depression (PPD). This is the first study aims to find the psycho sexual risk factors of PPD in women living in rural and urban areas of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. One thousand eight hundred and seventy five women were screened between 2 and 12 months after delivery for depression by using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Of the 1875 women were screened, 400 were eligible for the study and consented to complete the Self Report Questionnaire for putative psycho sexual risk factors of PPD. The overall prevalence of PPD is 21% and it is consistent with other studies conducted in Goa and rural area of Southern Region of Tamil Nadu and is also in line with the range of prevalence reported in Western countries. According to BDI 80.07% women had mild depression, 15. 14% had moderate depression, and 4. 78% had severe depression. The study revealed that prenatal stress, aversion to sex, past history of suicide, childhood sexual abuse and expected gender of the child were significantly associated with PPD. In these women, 69% and 65% were reported aversion to sex and CSA respectively. In conclusion the present study confirms that the rate and risk factors of PPD were broadly similar to that in other countries, except the aversion to sex, CSA, the history of suicide, and gender of the child were in addition to be the major risk factors of PPD. It provides evidence that CSA survivor biologically and psychologically prone to experience depression in the face of life stress.