comparison of maternal self-efficacy and infant care behavior between mothers with and without depression: a case-control study

Background: postpartum depression (ppd) affects various dimensions of women's lives. the present study aimed to compare infant care behavior and maternal self-efficacy between depressed and non-depressed mothers. objectives: this case-control study was conducted among 80 (n = 40 per group) postpartum women. methods: a socio-demographic characteristics form, edinburgh postnatal depression scale (epds), maternal self-efficacy questionnaire (msq), and infant care behavior questionnaire were used for data collection. independent t-test was run for data analysis. the mean score of maternal self-efficacy in the depressed group was 29.3 (3.6), and it was 33.0 (3.3) in the non-depressed group, which was significantly higher in the non-depressed group compared to the depressed group based on independent t-test results (adjusted mean difference: -3.7; 95% confidence interval: -2.2 to 5.3; p < 0.001). results: the mean score of infant care behavior was 72.2 (5.2) in the depressed group and 73.0 (9.0) in the non-depressed group, indicating no significant differences between the two groups according to independent t-test (p = 0.627). conclusions: depressed women were less self-efficient; thus, given the central role of mothers, some strategies should be adopted to minimize mothers' postpartum physical and mental problems and promote their self-efficacy and infant care behaviors.