Introduction: Pregnancy is the most beautiful and memorable time in a woman’s life. Pregnancy is considered as a period of increased vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. Psychiatric disorders during pregnancy are associated with poor maternal health and inadequate prenatal care. Maternal psychiatric disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period are also associated with numerous adverse outcomes for the offspring, including maladaptive fetal growth and development, poor cognitive development and behavior during childhood and adolescence, and negative nutritional and health effects. This study was done to examine the pattern and severity of psychiatric disorders in 100 antepartum women attending Obstetrics & Gynaecology OPD of MMMC & H, Kumarhatti, Solan.

Material and Methods: Two scales, the BPRS and HAM-D were applied on the patients. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) rating scale is used to measure psychiatric symptoms such as, anxiety, depression, hallucinations and unusual behaviour. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), also called the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) gives an indication of depression.

Results: Pattern of psychiatric disorders, according to BPRS showed, prevalence of anxiety (10%), tension (9%), depressed mood (11%), somatic concern (5%),guilt feeling (2%), emotional withdrawal (1%).Out of the 100 antenatal females, HAM-D scale showed three females with mild depression {8-13 score range}, eight with moderate depression {14-18 score range} and none with severe depression{19-22 score range}.

Conclusion: The study showed that psychiatric disorders are not uncommon in postnatal women and need to be looked into for their better diagnosis & management

Keywords: Pregnancy, Postpartum, Anxiety, Depression, Psychiatric Disorders.

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