• M N Joshi and A V Raut.
• Department of Community Medicine, MGIMS, Sewagram, Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
• J Postgrad Med. 2019 Oct 1; 65 (4): 212-218.

ContextGlobally, around half of all under-5 deaths are attributable to undernutrition. The magnitude of child undernutrition in India is one of the highest in the world. Responsive feeding that has the potential to optimize nutrition and development depends on a "healthy mother".ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to find out the magnitude and determinants of maternal depression among mothers of infants who attended immunization clinic in a rural medical college in central India and observe its association with infant-feeding practices and nutritional status of infants.Study DesignThis was an analytical cross-sectional study.Materials And MethodsStudy was conducted among consecutively chosen 300 mothers and their infants who visited the immunization clinic of hospital during May-September, 2016. Data were collected individually by interviewing each mother, and anthropometry of her infant was done. The mothers with depression were diagnosed according to the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Magnitude of depression has been reported using frequency and percentage, whereas association has been studied using prevalence odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) and logistic regression at 0.05 significance level.ResultsThe magnitude of maternal depression was 19% (95% CI 14.4-23.5). Mothers with depression had significantly higher odds for not indulging in responsive feeding. Maternal education had significant association with maternal depression after adjusting for other variables.ConclusionsBurden of maternal depression is high among mothers of infants who attended immunization clinic in a rural medical college in central India and is significantly associated with nonresponsive feeding practices.

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