Table 1.
Socio‐demographic characteristics of depressed and non‐depressed mothers
| Characteristic | Whole group (n = 243) | Non‐depressed (n = 121) | Depressed (n = 122) | P * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mother's characteristics mean (SD) | ||||
| Age in years | 27.8 (6.0) | 27.5 (6.0) | 28.1 (6.1) | 0.43 |
| Weight (kg) | 55.6 (11.6) | 54.5 (10.2) | 56.7 (12.8) | 0.15 |
| Height (cm) | 156.1 (5.5) | 156.4 (5.5) | 155.8 (5.5) | 0.40 |
| Body mass index | 22.8 (4.4) | 22.3 (3.8) | 23.3 (4.9) | 0.062 |
| Education and prosperity | ||||
| Mother's years of schooling | 4.6 (4.1) | 5.0 (4.1) | 4.2 (4.1) | 0.13 |
| Husband's years of schooling | 7.2 (4.0) | 7.3 (4.2) | 7.1 (3.9) | 0.69 |
| Rating of household prosperity by lady health workers | 3.4 (0.8) | 3.0 (0.6) | 3.7 (0.8) | <0.001 |
| Family characteristics n (%) | ||||
| Three or more children | 113 (46%) | 64 (53%) | 49 (40%) | 0.054 |
| Nuclear family structure | 70 (28%) | 32(26%) | 38 (31%) † | 0.48 |
| Educated person living in household/neighbourhood | 57 (24%) | 52(43%) † | 5 (4%) † | <0.001 |
| Grandmother lives in household | 129 (53%) | 75(62%) | 54 (44%) | 0.007 |
| Mother financially empowered | 168 (69%) | 112 (93%) | 56 (46%) † | <0.001 |
| Household in debt | 93 (39%) | 23 (19%) † | 70 (58%) † | <0.001 |
| Husband works for outside agency | 166 (69%) | 66 (55%) † | 100 (82%) | <0.001 |
| Baby variables n (%) | ||||
| Home delivery | 90 (37%) | 35 (29%) | 55 (45%) | 0.012 |
| Male gender | 144 (60%) | 73 (61%) † | 71 (58%) | 0.70 |
| Immunisation complete | 218 (90%) | 110 (91%) | 108 (89%) † | 0.83 |
| Baby variables mean (SD) | ||||
| Age of infant in months | 6.01 (0.59) | 5.98 (0.59) | 6.04 (0.58) | 0.44 |
| Birthweight (kg) | 2.80 (0.39) | 2.80 (0.39) | 2.80 (0.39) | 0.99 |
| Weight at 6 months (kg) | 6.93 (0.92) | 7.10 (0.88) | 6.77 (0.93) | 0.005 |
| Pattern of breastfeeding at 6 months interview n (%) | ||||
| Exclusive breastfeeding | 36 (15%) | 26 (21%) | 10 (8%) | χ 2 = 8.6 |
| Partial breastfeeding | 195 (80%) | 89 (74%) | 106 (87%) | d.f. = 2 |
| No breastfeeding | 12 (5%) | 6 (5%) | 6 (5%) | P = 0.014 |
*Comparison used t‐test for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test for dichotomous variables. †Missing data for one patient in this group.