Depression at two months postpartum: results from the 2021 French
National Perinatal Survey
Abstract
Objectives. To estimate postpartum depression at two months
(PPD) prevalence and its related risk factors. Design.
Multicentre prospective cohort study. Setting. France.
Population or sample. Representative sample of 7,133 women
participating to the French National Perinatal Survey (ENP) over one
week in March 2021. Methods. Data on maternal characteristics,
course of pregnancy/delivery, and child’s health were collected from
face-to-face interviews in maternity wards and/or medical records, and a
self-questionnaire (including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
(EPDS)) at two months postpartum. Women with an EPDS score
>=13 were considered to have PPD. Poisson regression models
with robust variance were used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios
(aPR) for PPD. Main Outcome Measures. PPD Results. PPD
prevalence at two months was 16.7% (95%CI[15.7-17.7]). Factors
significantly associated with PPD were: i/ age<=29 or
>=40 years (maximum aPR=1.41 95%CI[1.12-1.77] obtained
for 15-24 year-olds vs 35-39 year-olds), ii/ being born in North Africa
(1.29[1.02-1.64] vs France), iii/ having a lower level of health
literacy (1.23[1.14-1.35]), iv/ having a history of psychological
(1.45[1.24-1.69]) or psychiatric (1.52[1.23-1.88]) care since
adolescence (vs none), v/ receiving little/no support or good support
during pregnancy (1.80[1.52-2.14] and 1.31[1.15-1.48] vs.
receiving very good support), vi/ reporting feelings of sadness
(1.92[1.65-2.25]), anhedonia (1.69[1.36-2.11]) or both
(2.61[2.26-3.01]) during pregnancy (vs none of these feelings), vii/
having had an instrumental vaginal delivery (1.18[1.01-1.38] vs
spontaneous vaginal delivery). Conclusions. Our findings on PPD
(prevalence and risk factors) could guide policies on early
identification and preventive support for women in the perinatal period.