Prevalence of depression among pregnant adolescents attending Pumwani Maternity Hospital And City Council Health Centers in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Objectives Mainobjective: To determine the prevalence of depression among pregnant adolescents attending Pumwani Maternity Hospital and City Council health centers in Nairobi. Specific objectives: To determine the correlation between depression and social demographic variables in the above group. To compare the rates of depression in the above group with those found in other studies. Respondents: The study sample consisted of 219 pregnant adolescents presenting in antenatal clinic who met the inclusion criteria over a period of one month. Design: Cross sectional, descriptive study. Results: Seventy three percent (73%) of the respondents in the current study suffered from depression, 32% had mild depression, 28% had moderate depression and 13%had severe depression. Only 27% of the 'respondents had no depression. Depression was significantly correlated with unemployment and being single. Conclusion: Pregnant adolescents seeking antenatal services at Pumwani maternity Hospital and City council health centers in Nairobi suffer from very high levels of depression that need to be screened and managed. Unemployment and being single were the major factors contributing to the high levels of depression.