Author(s)

Lonia Mwape^*, Kestone Lyambai, Kabwe Chitundu

University of Zambia, School of Nursing Sciences, Lusaka, Zambia.

Postnatal mental distress is a public health problem and women screening positive of psychological distress who do not meet the diagnostic criteria for psychiatric disorder may be experiencing significant distress for which they might require assistance from mental health personnel. The risk of a woman experiencing psychological distress during the postnatal period can be predicted before it occurs. The study included 300 pregnant women who were selected systematically and on whom two assessments were conducted at two different points. The first assessment was conducted at 32-week gestation while the second one at six weeks following childbirth. The participants were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the association between the EPDS and the GHQ-12 while logistic regression analysis was carried out in order to predict postnatal psychological distress. The results showed no significant difference between the socio-demographic characteristics and the EPDS score. A significant association was found between the GHQ-12 and EPDS scores (r = 0.545; p = 0.001). Logistic regression revealed that a single predictor, antenatal EPDS individual score, alone provided a highly adequate model and was statistically reliable in distinguishing between presence and absence of psychological distress in the postnatal period (−2 log likelihood = 225.634; CI (1.035 - 1.173); X2 (1) 9.633, p = 0.002). The study revealed a correlation between EPDS score and GHQ-12 and that the EPDS can predict postnatal psychological distress using the data from the antenatal period. Therefore, patients who are found with antenatal psychological distress should be consistently evaluated throughout pregnancy and during the postnatal period to allow for early detection and intervention of postnatal psychological distress.

Psychological Distress, Antenatal, Postnatal, EPDS, GHQ-12

Mwape, L. , Lyambai, K. and Chitundu, K. (2019) Predicting Postnatal Psychological Distress in a Zambian Cohort: Relationship between the EPDS and the GHQ-12. Open Journal of Psychiatry, 9, 39-52. doi: 10.4236/ojpsych.2019.91004.