Effect of Targeted Health Education Program on Nurses' Awareness About Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious mental illness that involves the brain and affects behavior and physical health of women after childbirth . Multiple factors may influence PPD, such as lack of support, interpersonal events, withdrawal of hormones after delivery, psychosocial stressors, psychological stressors, personality, environment, and ineffective adaptation. Symptoms of PPD may include feeling restless or moody, feeling sad, crying a lot, having thoughts about hurting the baby or yourself, not feeling connected to the baby, having no energy or motivation, eating, or sleeping too little or too much, feeling worthless and guilty, losing interest or pleasure in activities, and withdrawing from friends and family . PPD is one of the most important health problems due to its prevalence; 10-15% . and serious negative mother-baby outcomes. PPD affects the health of mothers and their newborns and is associated with long-term psychological and socioeconomic implications . As the knowledge affects attitudes and practices of people, nurses' knowledge can affect profoundly women after birth specially regarding PPD . In an American web-based study , nurses' self-efficacy about PPD was associated to their knowledge . In another American electronic survey of 372 nurses, 95% reported an association between post-partum education and mortality and 72% reported that it is their responsibility to provide education to mothers . In a Ghanaian study, nurses had good knowledge about PPD but poor knowledge about screening and management . In a Kazakh study, 90% of nurses didn't attend training courses on PPD ). Furthermore, in a Malaysian study, 44.4 % of participants were below than median total knowledge score and only 25.9% practiced screening. In a Saudi study, the confidence of nurses and midwives to educate women about PPD was associated with their knowledge. In a Turkish study, 84.4 % of nurses had little knowledge and 75.5% reported that psychological service for evaluating mothers wasn't offered. PPD can have devastating effects on women, their infants, and families associated with lower levels of bonding and reduced breastfeeding initiation and duration. Consequently, women experiencing PPD may cause harm to their baby, themselves, or others. As, nurses in Maternity Hospitals are poised to play a pivotal role in the early identification and prompt treatment of PPD, assessing their knowledge is very important. To date, according to our knowledge, there is no previous study in Egypt assessing the nurses' knowledge about PPD, therefore the present study will be conducted to compare their knowledge regarding PPD before and after the health education program.