FIELD INTERVIEW

Dr. Anand Siddaiah is a post-doctoral researcher and a Global Health Equity Scholar (GHES) working alongside the Public Health Research Institute of India (PHRII), Mysore, Karnataka, India. At the University of Mysore, he received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Sociology, and English. Subsequently, he received a Master of Science in Psychology and a Master of Philosophy in Learning Disabilities. Finally, he received his Doctorate in Psychology. At PHRII he is studying the, “Influence of postnatal mental health on mother-infant relationships in rural Karnataka: A pilot exploratory study using mixed methods.”

His research highlights that the postpartum period begins immediately after birth and extends for approximately six weeks. Failing to cope with the physical, hormonal, and mental changes that occur during the postpartum period may lead to postnatal depression. Globally, this condition affects 25% of women during their lifetimes, and the depressive symptoms may last for up to a year post-delivery. Postnatal depression exists in 23% of Indian women (Patel, Rodrigues, & DeSouza, 2002).

Essentially Dr. Anand’s study seeks to understand influence of postpartum depression on infant development—specifically physical, motor, and mental development—and on mother-infant attachment. He is working in rural Indian populations because they embody underrepresented populaces in scientific literature (Suguna, Naveen, & Surekha, 2015), and few studies focus on the psychological development of the infant after birth. The study will include 150 mother-infant dyads from rural Mysore. Dr. Anand will interview the mother about her socioeconomic status and previous obstetric events. Using appropriate scales, he will measure the mothers’ depression and postnatal attachment to their infants; similarly, he will measure the infants’ weight, height, head circumference, and motor and cognitive development. Lastly, he will record the play session between the mother and infant for ten minutes, which will similarly be rated using an appropriate scale. Only postnatal mothers between 16 and 20 weeks who agree by informed consent will be included. Twins, preterm babies, and otherwise unhealthy infants will not be included; mothers with histories of depression will not be included, either.

I chose to interview Dr. Anand because I am particularly interested in mental health, globally but more so in India due to the constraints of poverty, social stigma, scarce psychiatric health care, and gender inequality. I believe that Dr. Anand’s research will have vast implications in global healthcare.