New depression screening guidelines benefit pregnant women and new moms–and everyone

Follow me @hricciot In January, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released an important update to their depression screening recommendations. As an obstetrician, I was particularly pleased that the recommendations now include screening pregnant women or those who have recently given birth, because 10% of these women suffer from depression. How new moms can benefit from enhanced depression screening The prior recommendations did not include pregnant and postpartum women. The USPSTF also found that treatment with a type of talk therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy alone, without the use of antidepressants, benefits pregnant and postpartum women with depression. While some pregnant women will need medication for serious depression, there are rare but serious risks to the fetus if the mother takes antidepressants, so it is not a decision that women or their obstetricians should make lightly. And there are other good reasons to avoid antidepressants with pregnant and postpartum women. According to Alice Domar, a psychologist in my department and author of the soon-to-be-released Finding Calm for the Expectant Mom, “Screening pregnant and postpartum women for depressive symptoms is a wonderful way to improve care and a terrific example of integrative medicine. However, I am concerned that this may be interpreted as an effort to get more young women on medication. Yes, there are some young women who need to be on medication in order to be safe and live a norm...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Anxiety and Depression Behavioral Health Brain and cognitive health Family Planning and Pregnancy Mental Health Prevention Screening Women's Health Source Type: news