title: Use of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale in a collaborative obstetric practice.
abstract: Postpartum depression is a clinical depressive episode that occurs in 13% to 20% of women after birth or miscarriage. This illness has potentially devastating consequences for both mother and infant, and is thought to be highly underreported and under-diagnosed. Our study examined the use of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) in a high-volume collaborative obstetric and midwifery practice. The prevalence of women with a positive screen for major postpartum depression in our study was 16%, which is consistent with other studies. An additional 20% of the participants had symptoms that indicated a potential postpartum depression. Obstetric clinicians were willing to use the PDSS, and 15 of 20 clinicians actively participated in the study. Women who had a positive screen at 6 weeks after birth were more likely to have not completed a high school education, be unpartnered, be exclusively bottle feeding, and have a history of depression. Two variables were statistically significant predictors of screening positively with the PDSS following logistic regression: history of depression (risk ratio, 4.8; 95% confidence interval, 4.4-5.2) and exclusive bottle feeding (risk ratio, 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-2.4).
authors.affiliation: University Midwifery Associates, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA. manfeli@msn.com <manfeli@msn.com>
authors.forename: Felicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Albers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008880:Midwifery / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009516:New Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors