The Prevalence of Antenatal Depression among Women in Medina, Saudi Arabia

Background: Antenatal depression is a recognized global burden. However, it has remained an ignored part of public health. Most of the maternal depression interventions have been directed towards post-natal depression.

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this study was to understand the third-trimester antenatal depression risk factors and prevalence among Saudi Arabian women.

Method: This study employed cross-sectional study design from April 2020 to June 2020 and 201 participants were recruited for this study. The study was conducted at Medina in the Maternity and Children's Hospital (MCH) from April 2020 to June 2020. The inclusion criteria were pregnant women who visited the outpatient clinic of antenatal care in MCH. Pregnant women who had a known familial history or already been diagnosed with depression before pregnancy were excluded from this study. The collection of the data was through researcher administered questionnaire to the pregnant women meeting eligibility criteria who were visiting the clinic of antenatal care at the Maternity and Children's Hospital. Data were collected using a structured and validated Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). All the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Anova and t-test statistics.

Results: Antenatal depression among participants stands at 35.8% for normal/ minimal depression, 31.3% for mild depression, 3.9% for moderate depression, 5.5% for moderately severe, and 3.5% for severe depression. Antenatal depression was mostly prevalent in the third trimester.

Conclusion: The antenatal depression prevalence among pregnant women in Medina is high. Screening for mental health problems and provision of supportive mental health services as a component of antenatal care services is recommended.