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- Title
Early discharge and risk for postnatal depression.
- Authors
Hickey, Anthea R; Ellwood, David; Boyce, Philip M; Morris‐Yates, Allen D; Hickey, A R; Boyce, P M; Ellwood, D; Morris-Yates, A D
- Abstract
<bold>Objective: </bold>To determine whether early discharge (< 72 hours) after childbirth increased the risk for women developing postnatal depression.<bold>Design: </bold>Prospective cohort design consisting of an initial interview, and six-weekly assessments for 24 weeks using a self-report questionnaire and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Women discharged within 72 hours were compared with the remaining women.<bold>Setting: </bold>Tertiary referral hospital in western Sydney, New South Wales, 1993.<bold>Participants: </bold>All 749 women delivering over a three-month period were recruited. Of the 522 participants, 425 women completed the study.<bold>Main Outcome Measures: </bold>Women scoring > 13 on the EPDS on two or more occasions were considered potential "cases" of postnatal depression. The diagnosis was confirmed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R disorders (SCID).<bold>Results: </bold>Of the 153 women (36%) discharged early, 22 women (14.4%) developed postnatal depression over the study period compared with 20 of the 272 women (7.4%) who had standard length of stay. Women who were discharged within 72 hours had a significantly increased risk for developing postnatal depression (odds ratio [OR], 2.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-4.21). This risk persisted when other sociodemographic, obstetric and psychosocial risk factors were controlled for in a logistic regression analysis (OR, 3.06; 95% CI, 1.22-7.69).<bold>Conclusion: </bold>Women planning early discharge after childbirth should be carefully assessed before discharge and follow-up should be rigorous. The potential to develop postnatal depression should be considered in all women choosing early discharge from hospital.
- Subjects
NEW South Wales; LENGTH of stay in hospitals; POSTPARTUM depression; TIME; DELIVERY (Obstetrics); LOGISTIC regression analysis; LABOR (Obstetrics); LONGITUDINAL method; DISCHARGE planning; EDINBURGH Postnatal Depression Scale
- Publication
Medical Journal of Australia, 1997, Vol 167, Issue 5, p244
- ISSN
0025-729X
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.5694/j.1326-5377.1997.tb125047.x