Post-natal depression detected by short screening tool

Main Category: Depression
Article Date: 03 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Post-natal depression can be detected by a short screening tool used during post-natal appointments. It can identify mothers with symptoms of PND (post natal depression or post partum depression).

The study, published in Pediatrics, evaluated two separate cohorts of 110 children, before and after a US paediatric clinic changed its standard of care so that all mothers were screened with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).

There was a significant increase in detection of depressive symptoms between the two cohorts, 1.6% versus 8.5% and rates of referral to mental health care increased from 0.2% to 3.6%.

'We strongly recommend that pediatricians consider implementation of a standardized depression screening tool for improving the detection of depression during this high-risk postpartum time,' the authors conclude.

Reference: Chaudron L et al (2004) Detection of Postpartum Depressive Symptoms by Screening at Well-Child Visits Pediatrics 113 (3) 551-558

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