Prevalence and Factors Associated with Postpartum Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Women in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Postpartum depression is the most common psychological health problem among females;it begins after the birth of the child and can occur at any time during the first year of delivery. The COVID-19 pandemic is a novel virus that is highly infectious and has several negative psychological impacts on individuals globally. Aim: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported to increase the incidence rate of depression. We investigated the prevalence rate and associated factors of postpartum depression (PPD) among women in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during the COVID-19 period, thereby attempting to determine whether and how COVID-19 affected PPD. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted on women at one week to six months postpartum using an online questionnaire. SPSS program was used for analyzing data. Results: This study included 150 participated women;49.3% were in the age range of 25 - 34 years old. There were 30.7% reported being primigravida. Regarding the level of depression, there were 60.7% reported the presence of depression;the depression was affected by some demographics of females such as the education level (P = 0.021) and other factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic such as visiting the doctor during quarantine (P = 0.049), diagnosis with depression by the doctor (P = 0.006), the impact of the pandemic on depression (P = 0.035), experiencing symptoms of depression during pregnancy (P = 0.005), family history (P = 0.043), and difficulties during childbirth during the pandemic period (P = 0.03). Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of PPD among women during the COVID-19 period, and it was higher than the prevalence of PPD before the COVID-19 period.