Introduction
depression, Depression, stunting, depressive symptoms
Maternal postpartum depression is estimated to affect 10–19% of women in high-income and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), respectivelyStudies that evaluated the association between maternal postpartum depression and infant physical growth outcomes in LMICs have produced inconsistent results. For instance, several studies have shown that infants and young children of mothers with postpartum depression are at increased risk of stunting and/or underweightDespite the clinical, social, and public health significance of maternal postpartum depressive symptoms, there is a paucity of evidence of other dimensional mechanisms linking maternal postpartum depressive symptoms with poor infant physical growth. Firstly, there is no study that seeks to investigate how the instruments used for screening maternal postpartum depression associate with infant physical growth outcomes. For example, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), which includes a 10-item self-reporting scale has been generally employed as a screening tool during the postpartum period; this tool has been validated for use in LMICs and in South Africa