Factors correlated with mental health help seeking of mother in postpartum period in Jakarta, Indonesia

The postpartum period is a critical time for mothers, marked by significant physical and mental changes. During this time, mothers are vulnerable to issues like postpartum blues and depression. Early professional help can reduce the burden of these mental health problems, but barriers such as social stigma, lack of support, and personal reluctance often prevent mothers from seeking help. This study aims to explore the factors correlated with mental health help-seeking among postpartum mothers in Jakarta, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour and considering sociodemographic, social, and environmental factors. Despite the availability of mental healthcare facilities in Jakarta, help-seeking behavior among postpartum mothers is not well understood, highlighting the need for further research. The aim of this study is to examine sociodemographic, childbirth related condition, psychological factors, social factors, perceived environmental factors in their correlation with mental health help seeking intention during the postpartum period in Jakarta, Indonesia. This research is quantitative cross-sectional study of postpartum mothers aged 18-49 years in Jakarta, Indonesia. After passing the ethical review, the data were collected using convenience sampling, with participants completing a self-administered online questionnaire. Quantitative analysis, including descriptive statistics, Spearman's correlation, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis were conducted using IBM SPSS 29. The study included 395 postpartum mothers aged 19 to 45 years (Median=26, IQR=6) in Jakarta. Most participants had higher education (71.4%) and a monthly income below the minimum wage (59.5%). The majority were Javanese (44.6%). Regarding childbirth conditions, 49.6% were exclusively breastfeeding, 53.9% were first-time mothers, and 52.9% had a vaginal delivery. Using Spearman’s correlation, parity, attitudes toward behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, perceived stigma, couple decision-making, and perceived availability show significant correlations with mental health help seeking intention, while age and financial condition do not show a significant correlation. Mann-Whitney U test revealed no significant difference in help seeking intentions between vaginal and caesarean method of delivery, while Kruskal-Wallis test revealed no significant differences in help-seeking intentions based on breastfeeding status, but did show significant differences across ethnic and education groups. While not all sociodemographic characteristics, childbirth-related conditions, but several factors such as education, ethnicity, and breastfeeding status were significantly correlated with mental health help-seeking intentions. All the psychological factors under Theory of Planned Behaviour, social factors, and environmental factor significantly correlated with mental health help-seeking intention. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve mental health help-seeking among postpartum mothers in Jakarta and may guide policymakers or stakeholders in developing support programs to fulfil their needs of support.