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Category: Project

Description: There is limited research on the effect of flooding on maternal mental health in low-income countries, where pregnant women are more vulnerable to extreme weather. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, such as flooding, in South Asia. We conducted a cross-sectional study in a flood-prone, rural region of Bangladesh to investigate the association between flooding and prenatal depression. We measured flooding based on respondent recall over the past 6 months and measured prenatal depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The EPDS instrument has been validated for measuring prenatal depression in rural Bangladesh. We used a random forest model to identify factors that may contribute to prenatal depression in this setting. Additionally, we describe common strategies that households used to prepare for flooding. Our findings can inform strategies for improving climate resilience among low-income pregnant women living in flood-prone regions.