A new proposal recommends the screening of pregnant and post-partum women for depression.
CNN reports that one in seven women are experiencing depression during pregnancy or within the first year after, as found in a report from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
However, most of them do not recognize it, nor do some of them report the matter to their doctors and respective clinical personnel. As such, the recommendation is of great importance.
According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), perinatal depression, as it is called, can have devastating effects on women, infants and families, if left untreated. Thus, accurate identification and proper care should be given to those suffering from it.
The proposal given by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for depression in the general adult population including pregnant and postpartum women. Screening should be implemented with adequate systems in place to ensure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment and appropriate follow-up.
The proposal would update the current guidelines formerly made in 2009, which recommends adult depression screening if there are available clinicians to address the need. However, at that time, the USPSTF didn't review depression in pregnant and postpartum women. Thus, no recommendation was given to them.
This new recommendation will face the need to precisely assess women with perinatal depression and help them find the adequate care that they need.
Dr. Jeffrey Ecker, an obstetrician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who chairs the ACOG committee on obstetric practice says obstetricians at his practice screen women for depression during their third trimester of pregnancy and again after giving birth.
This kind of depression screening may not be routine in some practices. However, The ACOG and task force recommendations can help further that practice.
"The majority of people are not depressed, but some people are - especially in the postpartum period," said Dr. Renée Binder, president of the American Psychiatric Association, reports FOX.
"It's very important to identify that something is going on and get effective treatment," Binder adds.
Some women may not report their depression to their doctor because they wouldn't want to admit feelings of sadness in a supposedly joyful season in their lives, says Ecker, reported by CNN.
Another NCBI report actually proves that over 80 percent of women "had not reported their symptoms to any health professional."
"Screening for depression alone doesn't make anyone better; it needs to be linked to resources" such as counseling or, in some cases, medication, Ecker says.
