Abstract

Postpartum psychosis is a rare psychiatric emergency that is hardly researched in the social work domain. The study therefore, investigated socio-demographic factors as determinants of postpartum psychosis among nursing mothers. This study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Two hundred and fifty nursing mothers served as respondents. A self-designed, validated questionnaire; with a reliability coefficient of 0.78 was used as an instrument. Analysis was done through frequency counts and percentages and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC), while the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The result showed that, there is a significant relationship between the sex of the child and postpartum psychosis (r = 0.306, N= 250, p< 0.05). Family history had a significant relationship with postpartum psychosis (r = 0.563, N= 250, p<.05). There is a significant relationship between unplanned pregnancy and puerperal psychosis (r = 0.847, N= 250, p<.05). Lastly, there is a significant relationship between economic factors and postpartum psychosis (r = 0.650, N= 250, p<.05). It was concluded that family history and inadequate social support were predictors of postpartum psychosis. Families of every pregnant woman should be involved in the treatment during pregnancy and after delivery. Psycho-education by social workers and psychologists during the care of expectant mothers would, in no small measure, help reduce the rate of postpartum psychosis in the near future.