Aim: To identify whether women having emergency delivery are at increased risk of developing postnatal depression (PND).
Methods: This is a retrospective comparative cohort study design. Two hundred and fifty Malaysian women were part of a previous study examining the prevalence of PND in a multiracial country and the effects of postnatal rituals. All women were at least 6 weeks post-partum when asked to complete the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Sociodemographic and birth data were obtained.
Results: Data collected were divided into two groups: 55 emergency delivery and 191 non-emergency delivery. There were four missing data. There was no significant difference in the mean age, parity, gestational period, baby birthweight, 5 min baby Apgar score and EPDS scores of the two groups. However, the analysis of PND indicated that women with emergency delivery had a relative risk of 1.81 compared with women with non-emergency delivery. The comparison of the two groups using chi2 indicated a significant (chi2 = 3.94, d.f. = 1, P = 0.04) increase in the presence of PND in the emergency delivery.
Conclusion: When compared with women having non-emergency delivery, women having emergency delivery had about twice the risk of developing PND. Special attention to this group appears warranted.