Screen parents for anxiety and depression much earlier plea
Screening for depression and anxiety is common in Queensland during early pregnancy but now there are calls for couples to be screened when they are planning for a baby.
QLD News
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COUPLES thinking of having a baby should have mental health screening as most head into pregnancy unprepared and unrealistic about the stresses, experts warn.
Screening for depression and anxiety is common in Queensland in the perinatal period from early pregnancy to post natal, but University of Queensland researcher Katrina Moss has called for screening to begin when couples are planning for a baby and says support should continue until early childhood.
A study from UQ’s School of Public Health found that the longer a mother suffered maternal depression the worse the outcomes for the child.
“Mothers may worry that if they’ve been depressed during pregnancy then it’s too late to do anything about it, but reducing depressive symptoms at any stage is better for them and their children,” Dr Moss said. “The earlier we can effectively detect and treat maternal depression, the better our chances of improving outcomes.”
The chief of Queensland-based organisation Peach Tree, which supports the wellbeing of new parents, said most couples were unprepared and unrealistic about parenting.
Early intervention approaches would require focus on increasing perinatal mental health literacy – including in preconception – and improving antenatal education to ensure it adequately prepared expecting parents for the wins and losses of parenthood.
“New parents need to understand biologically normal infant behaviour and how to respond to babies’ needs, and also so they know what services are out there to support them when things are rocky,” Viv Kissane said.
The UQ study, published in the Journal of Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, analysed depression levels in 892 mothers and the development and behaviour of 978 children.
The researchers found one in five women experienced depression once, while 11 per cent experienced a re-occurrence.