This material was presented in the 25th European Congress of Psychiatry which was organised by the European Psychiatry Association in Florence, Italy from 1-4th April 2017. I had access to the material as I attended the full Congress. Please note that this material remains the intellectual property of the European Psychiatry Association and its authors and any citation should include a full reference to it. For more information on the EPA and how to become a member, please visit: http://www.europsy.net/

1. Pregnancy is a period which involve major psychological and
social changes in the life of a woman and it is associated with
anxiety and depression (Ajinkya, Jadhav, & Srivastava, 2013).
Women with depression may have difficulty in sustaining be-
haviours of personal health and wellness(Kinser & Lyon,
2014). Depression can lead to poor uptake of antenatal services
and adverse birth outcomes (Rochat, Tomlinson, Newell, &
Stein, 2013). Nonetheless, depression is often under diagnosed
and untreated by health professionals during pregnancy in Ma-
lawi where pregnant women are not routinely screened for de-
pression during antenatal check-ups. One study found a preva-
lence of major depression as 21.1 % among pregnant women in
a rural district of this country (Stewart, Umar, Tomenson, &
Creed, 2014). This is a cause for public health concern and ne-
cessitates proper screening of depression during pregnancy so
that those with depressive symptoms are timely identified and
treated. Multiple antenatal visits by pregnant women provide
suitable times for screening, preventing and treating depression
(Lancaster et al., 2010). However, in Malawi, midwives have
no or limited time to explore if a pregnant woman has depres-
sion or risk factors during antenatal check-ups because the
clinics are overcrowded and have inadequate staff. Screening
for depression and contributing factors during pregnancy is
crucial for detecting pregnant women who are in need of men-
tal health interventions to safeguard the well-being of mother
and baby(Ajinkya et al., 2013).
Profile of depression in women attending antenatal clinics in Blantyre district, Malawi
Genesis Chorwe-Sungani, MN-MHL, Senior Lecturer, University of Malawi
Jennifer Chipps, PhD, Associate Professor, University of the Western Cape
This study aimed at documenting the prevalence of depression
during pregnancy and its associated risk factors among pregnant
women attending antenatal clinics in Blantyre district, Malawi.
This was a nested case control study in a larger cross-sectional
survey that was designed to screen for depression among preg-
nant women in Blantyre district. It used a random sample of 97
pregnant women who were drawn from a sample of larger study
(N=480). Ethical approval was granted by relevant bodies. An-
tenatal depression was measured using a major depression mod-
ule of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) in
this study. Pregnancy Risk Questionnaire (PRQ) was used to as-
sess risk factors for depression among pregnant women. De-
scriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data.
This study has shown that antenatal depression is prevalent in
Malawi. It suggests that psychosocial interventions targeting
pregnant women may be necessary to reduce antenatal depres-
sion and associated risk factors. However, further research re-
garding ways for assisting pregnant women to build and
strengthen their psychosocial support structures is needed.
Introduction
Aim of the study
Methods
Results
Conclusion
TABLE 1: Univariate relationship between individual risk factors and antenatal depression
OR (95%CI) p
Feeling pregnancy has not been a positive experience .09(.02-.49) .01*
Feeling that will have no people to depend on for emotional support after
giving birth . 48(.12-1.85 .29
Thinking that her mother was not happy to be a mother .00(.00-) 1
Feeling mother was critical of her when growing up .33(.04-2.47) .28
Feeling mother was not emotionally supportive to her when growing up 3.04(.41-22.85) .28
Feeling mother is not emotionally supportive to her at present 1.64(.33-8.18) .54
Feeling father was critical of her when growing up .92(.22-3.76) .9
Feeling father was not emotionally supportive to her when growing up 1.64(.33-8.18) .54
Having history of feeling miserable or depressed for ≥2 weeks before this
pregnancy 3.79(1.46-9.84) .01*
Previously told by health professional that she was depressed or needed
antidepressants 1.5(.35-6.51) .59
Being distressed by anxiety or depression for ≥2 weeks during this pregnancy 28(8.41-93.28) .00*
Being in a relationship with partner who is not emotionally supportive .19(.05-.68) .01*
Having major stresses, changes or losses in the course of this pregnancy 8.32(2.98-23.2) .00*
Not generally considering herself as a worrier 2.18(.25-19.07) .48
Having trouble finishing jobs because of wanting to get it exactly right 1.99(.71-5.61) .19
Not liking herself as a person 6027(00- ) 1
Was physically abused when growing up 4.19(1.56-11.3) .01*
Was sexually abused when growing up 3.04(.41-22.85) .28
Not happy about this pregnancy 1.04(.1-10.52) .97
Having concerns about being or becoming mother 8.75(1.58-48.6) .01*
Drinking alcohol or abusing drugs 50571(00- ) 1
CI=confidence interval, p=probability set at ≤ .05, OR=odds ratio, OR=Odds ratio,*=significant result
References
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Prevalence of antenatal depression in Blantyre district was
25.8% (n=25). Risk factors associated with antenatal depression
included: “being distressed by anxiety or depression for more
than two weeks during this pregnancy”; “feeling that pregnancy
has been a positive experience”; “having a history of feeling
miserable or depressed for two weeks or more before this preg-
nancy”; “relationship with partner is an emotionally supportive
one”; “experiencing major stresses, changes or losses in the
course of this pregnancy”; “having history of physical abuse
when growing up”, and “having concerns about being or becom-
ing a mother” (Table 1). Funded by: University of Malawi QZA-0484 NORHED 2013 grant.