Household Food Insecurity and Maternal Mental Health Outcomes in Postpartum Women in Kaduna State

The intersection of food insecurity and postpartum mental health represents an underexplored dimension of nutrition and maternal wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the relationship between household food insecurity and postpartum depression symptoms among women in the first six months after delivery in Kaduna North and Zangon Kataf local government areas of Kaduna State, North West Nigeria. Postpartum depression affects a substantial proportion of Nigerian mothers and is associated with impaired infant feeding and child development outcomes, with food insecurity posited as a psychosocial stressor that exacerbates vulnerability. An analytical cross-sectional study enrolled 320 postpartum women at routine postnatal or immunisation clinic visits. Household food insecurity was assessed using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, generating ordinal food security categories. Postpartum depression symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, with a threshold score applied for probable depression classification. Dietary intake was assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall to evaluate maternal nutritional adequacy, and social support was measured using the Oslo Social Support Scale. Logistic regression was used to examine the odds of probable postpartum depression across food insecurity categories, adjusting for sociodemographic and nutritional confounders. Mediation analysis was used to test whether dietary adequacy partially mediates the food insecurity-depression pathway. This study fills a significant evidence gap linking nutrition insecurity and maternal mental health in North West Nigeria. Keywords: food insecurity, postpartum depression, maternal mental health, Kaduna State, nutrition.