title: Postpartum related morbidities among women visiting government health facilities in Udupi Taluk, Karnataka, India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Maternal morbidities are considered a leading contributor to the burden of disease among women. Especially, if postpartum morbidities are left untreated, this can cause a negative impact on the quality of life. The study was conducted to determine the proportion and types of postpartum morbidities among women visiting government health facilities in Udupi Taluk, Karnataka and to find out the association between the morbidities and various factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted in various government hospitals in Udupi Taluk, consisted of 229 postpartum women. These subjects were selected from mothers who accompanied their children for immunization from February 2013 to July 2013 using purposive sampling technique. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to find out the association between the morbidities and various factors using SPSS version 15.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 112 (48.9%) women who experienced postpartum morbidities, back pain (23.6%), and perineal pain (15.7%) were most commonly reported physical morbidities. Similarly, anxiety (10%) and irritability (7.9%) were the most common psychological problems. Demographic factors such as religion 2.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1, 5.4) and occupation 2.5 (95% CI 1.1, 5.9) were associated with the morbidities. Likewise, obstetric factors such as place of delivery 1.5 (95% CI 0.8, 2.9) and type of delivery 1.9 (95% CI 1.0, 3.6) were also associated with various morbidities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings showed a high proportion of postpartum morbidities being reported in our study settings. These observation priorities a need of health program for early recognition, treatment and improving awareness of postpartum morbidities among near mothers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Navya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vyas
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Ramachandra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kamath
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pattanshetty
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: V S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Binu
keywords: Maternal health; Udupi; postpartum care; postpartum morbidities; postpartum period