Depressed mood in pregnancy

Prevalence and correlates in two Cape Town peri-urban settlements

This research study reports on baseline data collected from the Philani Mentor Mothers Project (PMMP), a community-based, cluster randomised controlled trial on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. The PMMP aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based intervention for preventing and managing illnesses related to HIV, TB, alcohol use and malnutrition in pregnant mothers and their infants.

1,062 pregnant women from Khayelitsha and Mfuleni were exposed to measures, which included the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Derived AUDIT-C, indices for social support with regards to partner and parents, and questions concerning sociodemographics, intimate partner violence, and the current pregnancy.

The data was analysed using bivariate analyses followed by logistic regression.

The Philani Maternal, Child Health and Nutrition Project has been addressing child health and nutrition problems in informal settlements around Cape Town since 1979. Ilifa Labantwana supported the evaluation of the study in Khayalitsha, Cape Town.  The findings of this research stem from this evaluation.

Written by Mary Hartley, Mark Tomlinson, Erin Greco, W Scott Comulada, Jacqueline Stewart, Ingrid le Roux, Nokwanele Mbewu and Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus. Published by BioMed Central in 2011.

If you would like a copy of this study, please email us on info@ilifalabantwana.co.za