Prevalence of depression and its associated factors amongst pregnant young women at Dimamo in Limpopo Province

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2024

Introduction: Since depression in young pregnant women affects both mothers and their unborn children, it is a serious public health concern. The lack of thorough research on the subject and conflicting priorities have prevented this from receiving priority intervention in many low- and middle-income nations. It is also believed that the condition does not immediately result in fatalities. Thus, the current study set out to look into the incidence of depression and related characteristics among young pregnant women in the rural Limpopo Province of South Africa's Dikgale, Mamabolo, and Mothapo (DIMAMO) districts. Methods: This was a retrospective quantitative study which consisted of 352 young pregnant women aged 14 to 22 and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was employed in the study to assess depression. Version 27.0 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. Less than 0.05 was the threshold for statistical significance. Results: The mean age of young pregnant women was 18.4 years and most of the participants reported that they had financial support. According to the recent study, the majority of young pregnant women had experienced partner domestic violence at 90.9% and their pregnancies were mostly reported as unplanned at 81.8%. Drinking of alcohol and smoking was found to be prevalent amongst young pregnant women. It was discovered that the general prevalence of depression was 42.8%. Drinking alcohol, partner financial support, HIV-positive status and Unplanned pregnancies have been proven to have a strong correlation with depression. Conclusion: A multifaceted approach that addresses all of the health issues that young pregnant women face is necessary to achieve holistic health, with a focus on mental health, behaviour modification, communication towards a healthy lifestyle, and a supportive social environment where young pregnant women can learn life skills.