Nutritional status of under-two years old children of depressive mothers presented to Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar.

Abstract

Objective: Maternal mental health is an important factor for wellbeing of babies. The aim of present study was to determine the frequency of malnutrition among less than2-year-old children of depressed mother presented to HMC. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Psychiatry Unit, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar. Period: July 2021 to February 2022. Material & Methods: A sample size 364 mothers were selected through random sampling technique. Data was collected on a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 24 for windows. Results: Mean age of mothers were 26±3 SD. Among 364 women, 130(35.72%) were normal, 125(34.34%) were having moderate depression and 109(29.94%) were having severe depression. Nutritional status of their children showed 88(24.18%) normal children, 152(41.75%) were moderate and 124(34.06%) were having severe malnutrition. Depression showed significant association with child nutrition. Conclusion: Depression in women is the major cause of malnutrition in first two year of child life. Effective strategies especially during postnatal period can help to alleviate the depression in women.