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Midwives' role in screening for antenatal depression and postnatal depression

Hollins Martin, Caroline; Norris, Gail; Martin, Colin

Authors

Caroline Hollins Martin

Gail Norris

Colin Martin



Abstract

All rights reserved. This is an educational paper which aims to inform midwives of tools available to help them make appropriate provisional diagnosis of perinatal depression. A second aim of the paper is to increase midwives' awareness of the relatively newer diagnosis of antenatal depression (AND). Of additional clinical importance, midwives need to recognise that postnatal depression (PND) may be a continuation of AND. To date, screening for AND has received relatively little attention compared with PND, with the evidence-base supporting that the impact can be as severe. It is important for midwives to know that screening for AND can be undertaken using valid and reliable psychometric selfreport depression screening questionnaires which have known validity characteristics and threshold cut-off scores. There are several of these tools available to help midwives make the decision about whether or not to refer the women to the mental health team. Current practice in the UK involves the midwife asking an initial short two-item 'Whooley Question' screen which, if indicates depression, can be followed up by the women completing a self-report depression screening questionnaire. To highlight their availability, a selection of valid and reliable psychometric self-report depression screening questionnaires are discussed herein, with it being important for midwives to develop a toolkit that can be given to women at clinics, in pamphlets, online or embedded into mobile applications.

Citation

Hollins Martin, C., Norris, G., & Martin, C. (2020). Midwives' role in screening for antenatal depression and postnatal depression. British Journal of Midwifery, 28(9), 666-672. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2020.28.9.666

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 23, 2020
Online Publication Date Sep 3, 2020
Publication Date Sep 2, 2020
Deposit Date Jul 8, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 3, 2021
Journal British Journal of Midwifery
Print ISSN 0969-4900
Electronic ISSN 2052-4307
Publisher MA Healthcare
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 28
Issue 9
Pages 666-672
DOI https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2020.28.9.666
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3537392
Publisher URL https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/bjom.2020.28.9.666

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