Caring for women with postpartum depression in Saudi Arabia nurses’ and midwives’ opinions about their roles

Abstract

The current cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate nurses’ and midwives’ opinions about their roles in caring for women with postpartum depression (PPD) in Saudi Arabia. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 181 nurses and 141 midwives. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Participants lacked experience assessing and managing PPD and providing health education and counseling to mothers about PPD. Moreover, participants underestimated the importance of their roles in preventing PPD risk factors, and detecting, assessing, and managing PPD. Findings show significant differences between nurses’ and midwives’ opinions, with more frequency of agreement among nurses than midwives regarding their roles in caring for women with PPD. Continuing health education programs for nurses and midwives are recom-mended to improve knowledge, skills, and awareness of their roles in assessing and managing PPD.