Geisinger has created a program to screen for postpartum depression when mothers visit their providers for routine checkups or bring their children to the pediatrician's office. The new program was created because Geisinger recognizes that postpartum depression often goes undiagnosed; symptoms include crying spells, anxiety, trouble sleeping, and irritability.
The program is designed to provide standardized postpartum depression screenings across a woman's pregnancy journey - from women's health to pediatrics - empowering mothers to thrive physically, psychologically, and socially.
A mother's mental well-being plays a key role in her child's mental health, physical growth, and development, according to Geisinger. Moreover, COVID-19 has brought added stress and anxiety into everyone's lives. Women are now at an increased risk of developing postpartum depression, according to Geisinger.
The program uses the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), a validated 10-item questionnaire most commonly used to screen for postpartum mood disorders. During prenatal appointments, mothers will be screened during their initial obstetrician visit, at the 28-week and 34-week checkups, during the six-week postpartum visit, and during the one-year postpartum checkup visit. The screening program expands to pediatric appointments, where mothers will be screened by a nurse in the exam room during the encounter as part of their child's well-child visits from two weeks to 12 months.
Training sessions and toolkits are designed for physicians, midwives, and nurse practitioners across the health system and have been used since March 2020 to help them identify symptoms of depression in pregnant and new mothers. The program includes clinical decision support to ensure mothers get the care they need.
Geisinger has created an online pregnancy hub called MyPregnancy Center, which hosts tools and resources for women's health, pregnancy, breastfeeding, postpartum depression, and newborn care. Couples planning to start a family, first-time mothers, or even experienced mothers are invited to obtain information from the site by visiting http://www.geisinger.org/patient-care and clicking on "Conditions & Specialties" then "Pregnancy and Newborn Care."
A video featuring two women sharing their personal stories of postpartum depression is available at https://vimeo.com/389292367/45a930f328.
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