Many pregnant women simply won’t tell their doctor they are struggling.
Who was most likely to feel this way?
Women who had experienced depression or anxiety before they became pregnant. In other words, those who have the greatest risk for prenatal depression and anxiety.
What surprised us, though, was that 99.8% of women said that if their doctor asked about their mental health, they would be honest! They’d feel comfortable responding to their doctor’s questions.
Should we screen pregnant women for depression and anxiety? We can’t afford not to. If we don’t, many women won’t share their concerns. Many won’t get the help they need.
References
- Milgrom J, Gemmill AW, Bilszta JL, et al. Antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression: a large prospective study. Journal of affective disorders 2008;108:147-57.
- Giallo R, Woolhouse H, Gartland D, Hiscock H, Brown S. The emotional-behavioural functioning of children exposed to maternal depressive symptoms across pregnancy and early childhood: a prospective Australian pregnancy cohort study. European child & adolescent psychiatry 2015.
- van der Waerden J, Galera C, Saurel-Cubizolles MJ, Sutter-Dallay AL, Melchior M, the EM-CCSG. Predictors of persistent maternal depression trajectories in early childhood: results from the EDEN mother-child cohort study in France. Psychological medicine 2015:1-14.
- Kingston D, Austin, M-P., Heaman, M., McDonald, S., Lasiuk, G., Sword, W., Giallo, R., Hegadoren, K., Vermeyden, L., Veldhuyzen van Zanten, S., Kingston, J., Jarema, K, Biringer, A. Barriers and facilitators of mental health screening in pregnancy. Journal of Affective Disorders 2015;accepted manuscript.
Originally published here.
Dr. Dawn Kingston, Canada’s leading expert on perinatal mental health and for over ten years, has been at the forefront of research on how to prevent postpartum depression. Her team has developed the HOPE App which is designed to significantly reduce prenatal anxiety and depression and directly support expectant mothers. They are studying it in a massive implementation study, one of the most ambitious projects of this type ever!
Follow Dr Dawn Kingston on:
Facebook || Twitter || Pinterest || Instagram || Medium || LinkedIN || PsychologyToday
