Highly Recommended: Depression Screening for Pregnant/Postpartum Women
"Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence."
— Publius Ovidius Naso
Like the dripping water, the call to action for better and more depression screening during and after pregnancy is slowly “hollowing out the stone”.
Although the official conclusion in a recent Obstetrics and Gynecology opinion piece was “At this time there is insufficient evidence to support a firm recommendation for universal antepartum and postpartum screening.” I believe the general consensus is that screening for depression in women during these times needs to be done and can not be ignored. One article states that as many as 14% to 23% of pregnant women experience depression, and 5% to 25% will have postpartum depression. The numbers are far too large and the effects far too widespread to be ignored.
The reason for my hope, despite the conclusion stated is in part due to this statement released by Dr. Gerald F. Joseph Jr., president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, "We recognize that postpartum depression is a serious health issue that we need to direct more attention toward...Screening for depression during pregnancy is also important to identify it early on and to help prevent a worsening of the condition after delivery."
Depression screening can be as easy as administering a questionnaire. Resources such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale give practitioners a simple and effective way to start up these important conversations with their patients and begin to identify the risks and diagnosis if present.
Is screening common among the women in your community? Are doctors asking about the symptoms and taking advantage of the opportunity to help pregnant women and their families cope with depression? How about polling the members of your community to find out if they have been presented with a depression screening tool during their pregnancy or in the postpartum period? Let us know the results here.
If it isn't happening, we need keep letting that water drip, drip, drip...reminding doctors and health care practitioners of the importance of depression screening for pregnant women as well as during the postpartum period. In my conclusion, it should be mandatory, and universally recommended.
— Publius Ovidius Naso
Like the dripping water, the call to action for better and more depression screening during and after pregnancy is slowly “hollowing out the stone”.
Although the official conclusion in a recent Obstetrics and Gynecology opinion piece was “At this time there is insufficient evidence to support a firm recommendation for universal antepartum and postpartum screening.” I believe the general consensus is that screening for depression in women during these times needs to be done and can not be ignored. One article states that as many as 14% to 23% of pregnant women experience depression, and 5% to 25% will have postpartum depression. The numbers are far too large and the effects far too widespread to be ignored.
The reason for my hope, despite the conclusion stated is in part due to this statement released by Dr. Gerald F. Joseph Jr., president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, "We recognize that postpartum depression is a serious health issue that we need to direct more attention toward...Screening for depression during pregnancy is also important to identify it early on and to help prevent a worsening of the condition after delivery."
Depression screening can be as easy as administering a questionnaire. Resources such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale give practitioners a simple and effective way to start up these important conversations with their patients and begin to identify the risks and diagnosis if present.
Is screening common among the women in your community? Are doctors asking about the symptoms and taking advantage of the opportunity to help pregnant women and their families cope with depression? How about polling the members of your community to find out if they have been presented with a depression screening tool during their pregnancy or in the postpartum period? Let us know the results here.
If it isn't happening, we need keep letting that water drip, drip, drip...reminding doctors and health care practitioners of the importance of depression screening for pregnant women as well as during the postpartum period. In my conclusion, it should be mandatory, and universally recommended.
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Tags: antepartum, depression, depression screening, postpartum, postpartum depression, pregnancy
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© 2012 Created by Susan M..
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