Postpartum depression screening in well-child care appears promising

 

Screening for postpartum depression at well-child visits improved both maternal depressive symptoms and overall mental health and parenting, according to results of a study from the Netherlands.

“This promising finding warrants wider implementation of screening for postpartum depression,” said Dr. Angarath I. Van der Zee-van den Berg of the University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands, and associates.

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In a prospective study of mothers visiting Dutch well-child care centers after childbirth between Dec. 1, 2012, and April 1, 2014, they were exposed either to screening at 1, 3, and 6 months post partum (intervention condition) or to CAU (control condition).

Results showed significantly fewer mothers in the intervention group were depressed at 9 months post partum, compared with the CAU group (0.6% of 1,843 vs. 2.5% 1,246 for major depression), with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.28 (95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.63). The difference also was significant for minor and major depression, with 3.0% of the intervention group affected vs. 8.4% of the CAU group, and the adjusted odds ratio was 0.40 (95% confidence interval, 0.27-0.58). For parenting, anxiety symptoms, and mental health functioning, the intervention resulted in effect sizes ranging from 0.23 to 0.27.

“We found screening for postpartum depression to have a negligible effect on socioemotional development of the child with no former evidence to compare with,” Dr. Van der Zee-van den Berg and his associates said. “Attention for the mother-child interaction in the trajectory after screening may improve child outcomes; this evidently requires further study.”

To find out more information see Pediatrics (2017;140[4]:e20170110).

[email protected]

 

Screening for postpartum depression at well-child visits improved both maternal depressive symptoms and overall mental health and parenting, according to results of a study from the Netherlands.

“This promising finding warrants wider implementation of screening for postpartum depression,” said Dr. Angarath I. Van der Zee-van den Berg of the University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands, and associates.

monkeybusinessimages/Thinkstock

In a prospective study of mothers visiting Dutch well-child care centers after childbirth between Dec. 1, 2012, and April 1, 2014, they were exposed either to screening at 1, 3, and 6 months post partum (intervention condition) or to CAU (control condition).

Results showed significantly fewer mothers in the intervention group were depressed at 9 months post partum, compared with the CAU group (0.6% of 1,843 vs. 2.5% 1,246 for major depression), with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.28 (95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.63). The difference also was significant for minor and major depression, with 3.0% of the intervention group affected vs. 8.4% of the CAU group, and the adjusted odds ratio was 0.40 (95% confidence interval, 0.27-0.58). For parenting, anxiety symptoms, and mental health functioning, the intervention resulted in effect sizes ranging from 0.23 to 0.27.

“We found screening for postpartum depression to have a negligible effect on socioemotional development of the child with no former evidence to compare with,” Dr. Van der Zee-van den Berg and his associates said. “Attention for the mother-child interaction in the trajectory after screening may improve child outcomes; this evidently requires further study.”

To find out more information see Pediatrics (2017;140[4]:e20170110).

[email protected]

 

Screening for postpartum depression at well-child visits improved both maternal depressive symptoms and overall mental health and parenting, according to results of a study from the Netherlands.

“This promising finding warrants wider implementation of screening for postpartum depression,” said Dr. Angarath I. Van der Zee-van den Berg of the University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands, and associates.

monkeybusinessimages/Thinkstock

In a prospective study of mothers visiting Dutch well-child care centers after childbirth between Dec. 1, 2012, and April 1, 2014, they were exposed either to screening at 1, 3, and 6 months post partum (intervention condition) or to CAU (control condition).

Results showed significantly fewer mothers in the intervention group were depressed at 9 months post partum, compared with the CAU group (0.6% of 1,843 vs. 2.5% 1,246 for major depression), with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.28 (95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.63). The difference also was significant for minor and major depression, with 3.0% of the intervention group affected vs. 8.4% of the CAU group, and the adjusted odds ratio was 0.40 (95% confidence interval, 0.27-0.58). For parenting, anxiety symptoms, and mental health functioning, the intervention resulted in effect sizes ranging from 0.23 to 0.27.

“We found screening for postpartum depression to have a negligible effect on socioemotional development of the child with no former evidence to compare with,” Dr. Van der Zee-van den Berg and his associates said. “Attention for the mother-child interaction in the trajectory after screening may improve child outcomes; this evidently requires further study.”

To find out more information see Pediatrics (2017;140[4]:e20170110).

[email protected]