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Cited by 39Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumMaternal and Neonatal HealthcareMaternal and Perinatal Health Interventions

A cross-sectional study of early identification of postpartum depression: Implications for primary care providers from The Ontario Mother & Infant Survey

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Watt, Susan, Sword, Wendy, Krueger, Paul, Sheehan, Debbie·2002·BMC Family Practice
DOI 10.1186/1471-2296-3-5PMC PMC107838
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: This survey's objective was to provide planning information by examining utilization patterns, health outcomes and costs associated with existing practices in the management of postpartum women and their infants. In particular, this paper looks at a subgroup of women who score >or= 12 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Survey (EPDS). METHODS: The design is cross-sectional with follow-up at four weeks after postpartum hospital discharge. Five Ontario hospitals, chosen for their varied size, practice characteristics, and geographic location, provided the setting for the study. The subjects were 875 women who had uncomplicated vaginal deliveries of live singleton infants. The main outcome measures were the EPDS, the Duke UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire and the Health and Social Services Utilization Questionnaire. RESULTS: EPDS scores of >or= 12 were found in 4.3 to 15.2% of otherwise healthy women. None of these women were being treated for postpartum depression. Best predictors of an EPDS score of >or= 12 were lack: of confident support, lack of affective support, household income of <20,000 dollars, wanting to stay in hospital longer, identification of learning needs while in hospital, self-identified care needs for an emotional/mental health problem that have not been met and mother's rating of own and baby's health as fair or poor. CONCLUSIONS: Primary care physicians, midwives, and public health nurses need to screen for depression at every opportunity early in the postpartum period. A mother's expression of undue concern about her own or her baby's health may be predictive of postpartum depression. Flexible, mother-focused support from community providers may decrease the prevalence of postpartum depression.

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  • Mothers tend to minimize their own needs and desires, especially shortly after childbirth.

    “Mothers tend to minimize their own needs and desires, especially shortly after childbirth [49].”

    From Motherhood and Me (Mom-Me): The Development of an Acceptance-Based Group for Women with Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Symptoms (2022) · cites this paper as [49]

    The Discussion reports that all surveyed mothers had contacted a physician about their infant’s health after discharge, while fewer than 10% at any site identified a contact as being for their own needs. This supports a narrower observation about healthcare contacts shortly after childbirth, but does not establish that mothers generally minimize their needs or desires. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Authors
Watt, S., Sword, W., Krueger, P., & Sheehan, D.
Affiliations
  • McMaster University (CA)
  • City of Hamilton (CA)
Corresponding author
Watt, Susan
ORCID
Venue
BMC Family Practice
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2002-04-11
Volume
3
Issue
1
Pages
5-5
ISSN
1471-2296 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1471-2296-3-5
PMC
PMC107838
OpenAlex
W2150210156
Cited by
39
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 4
FWCI
1.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (unspecified)
Locations
  • BMC Family Practice (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Canadian Health Services Research Foundation
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions
Keywords
postpartum depression, early detection, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, screening, primary care, social support, health care utilization, predictors of depression, maternal mental health, postpartum women
MeSH terms
Analysis of Variance, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Income, Infant, Newborn, Length of Stay, Ontario, Risk Factors, Social Support, Logistic Models, Depression, Postpartum

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