Biography

Dana Suhail Sawan is a medical intern from Jeddah; Saudi Arabia. She was awarded her Bachelor’s degree in 2013 from King Abdulaziz University Medical School, Saudi Arabia. Dana has varied experiences during her college years both locally and abroad. Her most memorable were, Research assistance training at Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at McGill University, Montréal, Canada, research course at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A, and many others around the world. Her research activity participation includes papers about hematological malignancies and fertility preservation, postpartum depression and associated risk factors, effects of being underweight pre-pregnancy and gestational weight gain on maternal and fetal outcomes. She also displays managerial, logistical, and communication roles demonstrated in being the group leader for 3 successive years during medical school, and an active member on the team who worked on achieving the Canadian diamond accreditation for King Abdulaziz University Hospital. Her goal is to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynecology at an academic institute, specialize in fertility treatment and preservation, provide the best service possible for her patients, and be a strong education and research asset for her institution.

Abstract

Objective: To perform a prospective questionnaire based epidemiological analysis of the prevalence and risk factors of post-partum depression (PPD) among Saudi women. Methods: A total of 280 mothers who delivered a live baby at least 2 weeks to a maximum of 1 year ago from the time of study participation were included. A p value of p value ≤ 0.05 was used to determine the significance of results obtained. Results: The prevalence of PPD in the study sample was 23.9%. Statistically significant risk factors associated with PPD were post-partum blues, marital status, level of education, husband’s job (p=0.001); monthly income (p=0.006), unplanned pregnancies (p=0.01), postpartum complications (p=0.05); pre-existing depression, use of antidepressants and lack of support from the spouse in baby care (p=0.001). Conclusion(s): The prevalence of PPD among Saudi women is high and warrants further investigation Keywords: Post-partum, depression, prevalence, Saudi Arabia