delivery methods and postpartum depression: a comparative study

Background objective: postpartum depression is a frequent psychological complication that affects a mother’s mental status and her ability to adjust to the new changes in her life after giving birth, making the postpartum period a sensitive time for mothers both physically and emotionally. this study was conducted with the aim to find out the relationship between postpartum depression and the delivery method.materials methods: this descriptive comparative study was conducted among 240 postpartum women at primary health care centers in babylon city, iraq. participants aged 16-45 years at 2-6 weeks after delivery. data was collected using the validated edinburg postpartum depression scale and analyzed with spss (version 23.0). descriptive and inferential statistics, including kruskal-wallis and mann-whitney u tests were employed. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.results: among women with normal vaginal delivery, 79.2% had low postpartum depression scores (7.95±5.29). however, among women who underwent c/s delivery, 48.3% had moderate depression scores (17.21±6.63).conclusion: the present study found higher rates of postpartum depression among mothers who had caesarean sections compared to those with normal deliveries. socio demographic factors (marital status, occupation, and residence) influenced depression in normal delivery mothers, while age was significant for caesarean section mothers. healthcare providers should prioritize mental health support, integrating psychological screening and targeted interventions, especially for at-risk groups like as divorced, unemployed, and rural-resident mothers.