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Suicidality in early pregnancy among antepartum mothers in urban India

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Abstract

This study assessed the prevalence and predictors of suicidality among 462 pregnant women in South India. Women in early pregnancy (<20 weeks) attending an urban public hospital antenatal center were assessed for suicidality using a modified version of the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire–Revised (SBQR) and a single-item (item 10) from the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Severity of depressive symptoms, family violence, and perceived social support were also measured. The prevalence of suicidality in pregnancy was 7.6 % (35/462). Eleven women (2.4 %) reported having had suicidal plans, and 8 (1.7 %) had made a suicidal attempt during the current pregnancy. Younger age, belonging to a middle socioeconomic status, poor perceived support, domestic violence, depressive symptoms, and having a past history of suicidality predicted suicidal ideation during the current pregnancy. Multivariate analysis revealed depression severity and a life time history of suicidal ideation as being the strongest predictors. The findings underscore the need for assessment of psychiatric and psychosocial factors that confer risk among women in this vulnerable period. The results of the study however may be specific to low-income urban women from this geographical location limiting the external validity of our findings.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the funding for the PRAMMS project by the Indian Council of Medical Research, Grant Number 7/7/01PSRH/12-RCH

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatric Social Work, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India

    T. A. Supraja & Kavita V. Jangam

  2. Department of Biostatistics, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India

    K. Thennarasu & T. K. Seena

  3. Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India

    Veena A. Satyanarayana

  4. Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India

    Geetha Desai & Prabha S. Chandra

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  1. T. A. Supraja
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  2. K. Thennarasu
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  3. Veena A. Satyanarayana
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  4. T. K. Seena
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  5. Geetha Desai
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  6. Kavita V. Jangam
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  7. Prabha S. Chandra
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Correspondence to Prabha S. Chandra.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional ethics committee (IEC—NIMHANS).

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Supraja, T.A., Thennarasu, K., Satyanarayana, V.A. et al. Suicidality in early pregnancy among antepartum mothers in urban India. Arch Womens Ment Health 19, 1101–1108 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0660-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0660-2

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