Significant perinatal distress and depression affects 14% of women, producing short and long term consequences for the family. This suggests that measures for early detection are important, and non‐identification of these women may exacerbate difficulties.
Screening provides an opportunity to access large numbers of women and facilitate pathways to best‐practice care.
A valid, reliable, economical screening tool (the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, EPDS) is available.
Arguments against screening pertain largely to lack of evidence about the acceptability of routine use of the EPDS during pregnancy and the postnatal period, and inadequate evidence regarding outcomes and cost‐effectiveness.
To address these concerns, the National Postnatal Depression Prevention and Early Intervention Program will evaluate outcomes of screening in terms of acceptability, cost‐effectiveness, access and satisfaction with management in up to 100 000 women.
Background Improving our understanding of the relationship between maternal depression and parenting stress is likely to lie in the range of additional factors that are associated with vulnerability to depression and also to parenting stress. Objectives To examine the role of trauma and partner support, in understanding the relationship between perinatal depression and parenting stress. Methods This study utilises data from 246 women in a pregnancy cohort study that followed women from early pregnancy until their infant was 12 months. Included were both women with a diagnosis of depression and those without depression. The measures included SCID-IV, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Social Support Effectiveness Questionnaire, and the Parenting Stress Index. Results We found women with depression were more likely to report a history of childhood trauma. Depressive symptoms were positively associated with parenting stress while partner support was negatively associated with parenting stress. The protective role of partner support for parenting distress was observed in those with no history of childhood abuse and low depressive symptoms, but not in those with a trauma history and high depressive symptoms. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of early trauma in understanding the protective role of support on the relationship between parenting and depression. These findings can inform future studies and the refinement of future interventions aimed at both perinatal depression and parenting.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.