Depression during pregnancy in a tertiary care center of eastern Nepal.

This is a cross sectional study, conducted in 45 pregnant women coming for antenatal check ups in the eastern regional hospitals in Nepal. Hamilton -Depression Scale (HAM-d) was applied after initial psychiatry work up to all women who were selected for the interview. Analysis revealed about half of the pregnant women having some form of depression. Life events (e.g. chronic illness in the family, marital disharmony, economic crisis to sustain the family) were found to be important risk factors (P<0.05). Antenatal depression is a more common than generally thought.