Khaberni - A new report by the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) reveals that between 34% and 53% of Jordanian mothers suffer from postpartum depression, one of the highest rates in the Eastern Mediterranean region, yet they receive no systematic screening or psychological support within primary healthcare centers despite having access to family planning services.
The report, viewed by "Al-Mamlaka", explains that these high rates, which exceed global (10–20%) and regional (20–30%) rates, are not met with a healthcare system equipped to detect or address them, as none of the primary healthcare centers in Jordan employs systematic screening tools for diagnosing postpartum depression, such as EPDS or PHQ-9, and there are no mental health specialists available.
The field evaluation results that covered care centers in Mafraq and the Northern Jordan Valley indicate that 100% of these centers provide family planning services, yet they include no specific procedures for detecting postnatal mental disorders.
Moreover, these centers do not provide essential psychiatric medications, as the report records a 0% availability of any type of depression-related medications.
The report also indicates that 55% of the centers lack suitable rooms that provide privacy for conducting psychological consultations, making any therapeutic intervention or diagnostic assessment almost impossible, while 82% of the centers that claim to offer "mental health services" do so only through referrals, without any internal case management or follow-up.
Social and Cultural Barriers
The report identifies a significant social barrier represented by the stigma associated with mental health, which prevents many women from seeking help or informing midwives about symptoms.
According to the report; the focus group discussions conducted within the study reveal that many women prefer to "hide" symptoms for fear of stigma or being accused of weakness, while husbands often interpret psychological signs as merely "stress".
Economic Cost
The report affirms that the consequences of ignoring mental health extend beyond social impact to tangible economic losses; as the economic cost of mental diseases in Jordan is estimated at approximately 0.86% of the Gross Domestic Product annually, which is about 251.8 million dinars, while investment return analyses show that every dinar spent on mental health services yields a return of up to 3.3 times when community care models are implemented.
Report Recommendations
The report issued by the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) recommends introducing brief and regular screenings for depression during family planning and postnatal visits.
It also recommends training midwives and nurses to provide “short counseling sessions” with 2–4 sessions for mild and moderate cases, and establishing clear referral paths between primary centers and specialized mental health services, with bidirectional follow-up.
It also recommends; enhancing privacy within health centers through dedicated rooms or low-cost partitions, involving husbands, community leaders, and religious figures in campaigns to break the stigma and improve family support.
