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Evidence Library · Staying well

Your mental health is part of prenatal care

And prevention, not just screening, has evidence behind it.

Perinatal depression affects as many as 1 in 7 women. The US Preventive Services Task Force gives a grade B recommendation that clinicians provide or refer pregnant and postpartum people at increased risk to counselling interventions, based on convincing evidence that cognitive behavioural therapy and interpersonal therapy prevent it.

Increased risk includes a history of depression, current depressive symptoms, low income, and young or single parenthood. Evidence for non-counselling approaches, including exercise, education and preventive medication, was judged inadequate.

Recall that Black women in one large US health system were less likely to receive a prenatal depression screen at all (odds ratio 0.8).

If you are in one of those groupsPrevention is a thing you can ask for before you are unwell. "I have a history of depression and I would like a referral for preventive counselling" is a specific, evidence-backed request.
Where this comes from:
173. Curry SJ, Krist AH, Owens DK, Barry MJ, Caughey AB, Davidson KW, et al. Interventions to prevent perinatal depression: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2019;321(6):580-587.
263. Byrn MA, Buys EA, Mujahid M, Madsen K. Disparities in the provision of perinatal care based on patient race in the United States. Birth. 2023;50(3):627-635.

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This page is educational. It supports the conversation with your own clinicians. It is not consent to any treatment, and it cannot assess you. If you are worried about a symptom now, see urgent warning signs.