International Journal of Medical Science and Innovative Research (IJMSIR) IJMSIR : A Medical Publication Hub Available Online at: www.ijmsir.com Volume – 2, Issue – 3, May – June - 2017, Page No. : 173 - 186 Corresponding Author: Dr Okonoda, Kingsley Mayowa, ijmsir, Volume-2 Issue-3 Page No. 173 - 186 Page 173 ISSN- O: 2458 - 868X, ISSN –P: 2458 - 8687 Postpartum Depression in Primary Health Care Setting in Plateau, Nigeria; Knowledge and Identification by Health Care Workers. Okonoda K.M 1 , Adetoye A.M 2 , Ochefa S.O 2 , Josiah W.Q 2 , Chirdan O.O 3 1 Department of Psychiatry, University of Jos, Jos, Plateau, Nigeria 2 Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Jos, Jos, Plateau, Nigeria 3 Department of Community Medicine, University of Jos, Jos, Plateau, Nigeria. E-Mail: mayorking2001@yahoo.com Correspondence Author Dr Okonoda, Kingsley Mayowa,Department of Psychiatry, University of Jos, PMB 2084, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Contact No.: +2348036770092 E-Mail Id: mayorking2001@yahoo.com Conflicts of interest: None to Declare Introduction Postpartum Depression is one of the - common complications of childbearing and as such represents a considerable public health problem with effects on the mother, her marital relationship and her children. The ability of primary health care workers to recognize and diagnose the condition seems to be low. Materials and Methods A total of 112 women in puerperium who attended immunization clinic which held twice weekly in selected Primary care facilities in Jos North and Jos South Local Governments areas were interviewed using the Edinburg Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) between 1 st February and 28 th February 2017. Twenty six healthcare workers who ran postnatal clinic at the selected primary healthcare centres were interviewed to access the knowledge of healthcare workers on postpartum depression. Results We found that 9 (8%) of the respondents had major probable depression with cut off set at 13 and 13 (11.6%) of the respondents had mild probable depression with scores between 10 and 12. Eighteen (69.2%) of the total 26 health workers had received information on postpartum depression during the years of training while 8(30.8%) of the respondents did not. Three (11.5%) felt very confident in their knowledge to identify and diagnose women with postpartum depression, 8(30.8%) said they were confident enough, 11(42.3%) said they were not so sure and 4(15.4%) said not at all. Twenty (96.2%) said they need more training in diagnosing and managing postpartum depression. Conclusion Postpartum depression is prevalent among mothers in this environment just like it is in different parts of the world. The health workers in the primary health centres had little knowledge in identification, diagnosis and management of PPD. We recommend better training for health workers and better integration of mental health services into the primary health care services.