PITTSBURGH, November 30, 2006 — Free screening for depression will be offered to all women giving birth at Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) as part of the first large-scale National Institute ofMental Health-funded study of methods to identify and treat postpartum depression.
"Postpartum depression causes a great deal of personal and family suffering at a critical time in parenthood," said Katherine L. Wisner, M.D., M.S., professor of psychiatry and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Research Institute. "We have successful ways to treat women who experience depression after givingbirth; typically their depression goes undiagnosed and untreated."
Through the study, women will be screened for depression four-to-six weeks after giving birth. Those who screen positive will receive depression education and will complete a diagnostic interview to define their specific diagnosis and provide education about depressive disorders. Women who are identified as having postpartum depression will have the opportunity to participate in a study where they willreceive either telephone-based care management or usual depression care.
After being provided with information about their treatment options, both groups of women will be supported in making choices about depression treatment, encouraged to access their preferred treatment, counseled to comply with treatment recommendations and given assistance if they do not respond to their preferred treatment. They will be evaluated for depressive symptoms at three, six and 12 months post-birth. Additionally, functional and public health outcomes forthe mothers, their infants and families will be assessed.
Mothers who receive the telephone-based treatment will have a care manager who will follow-up withthem during the course of the study.
To date, 900 women who delivered at Magee have been contacted in a pilot study, and 14.4 percent of women screened positive. This figure compares favorably with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality report rate for postpartum depression of 14.5 percent. The women have been overwhelmingly positive about the calls and the chance to review their emotional health after birth. Symptoms can appear any time from days up to three months after delivery, and include fatigue, feelings of hopelessness, disturbances in appetite and sleep, confusion, uncontrollable crying, lack of interest in the baby, fear of harming the baby or oneself,and mood swings.
For more information about this study or postpartum depression care, call 1-800-436-2461 or 412-586-9072, Women's Behavioral HealthCARE,or visit the Web site www.womensbehavioralhealth.org.
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