The relationship between postpartum depression and health literacy among nulliparous women

Abstract

Objective (s): Health literacy is the capacity and the ability to access, understand and use of health information to maintain and improve health behavior. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between health literacy and postpartum depression among nulliparous pregnant women who referred to health centers in Karaj, Iran. Methods: A prospective study was carried out among a convenient sample of nulliparous women in third trimester of their pregnancy. Health literacy was measured using the Health Literacy Inventory for Adults (HELIA) and depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). .Women completed the EPDS once again 8 weeks after delivery. Results: In all 348 nulliparous women were studied. The mean health literacy score among women was 67.30(±14.66) indicating that 39.6% of women had limited health literacy. The prevalence of postpartum depression was 21.6%. The results of multivariable logistic regression showed that in addition to depression during pregnancy (OR: 1.21, 95% CI:1.08-1.37, P=0.001) and cesarean section for medical reasons (OR: 5.58, 95% CI: 2.79-11.16, P<0.001(, health literacy was significantly associated with postpartum depression (OR: 0.97, 95% CI:0.95-0.99, P=0.033). Conclusion: The study results suggest that postpartum depression significantly is associated with limited health literacy in nulliparous women.

Keywords

• health literacy
• postpartum depression
• nulliparous women