You Are Not Alone: Addressing Perinatal Mood Disorders
Title: You Are Not Alone: Addressing Perinatal Mood Disorders
- Identify the opportunities to effectively care for women silently suffering with mood disorders and the impact in obstetric nursing care.
- Describe the steps involved in assessing, screening, and managing perinatal mood disorders, effectively reducing negative outcomes for mother and infant.
- Measure the number of patients impacted by early identification of potential perinatal mood disorders.
Women are experiencing greater degrees of anxiety and depression, earlier in pregnancy, resulting in more women developing mood and major depressive disorders. Perinatal mood disorders are an evolving blend of emotional and mental uncertainty, affecting women during pregnancy and through the postpartum period. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent a multitude of intrapartum complications from preterm labor to suicidal ideations. Dispelling the stigma surrounding mental health complications and providing compassionate care promotes healthy pregnancies, happy mothers, and safe children. This is the goal of the Perinatal Mood Disorders Program.
Proposed change:
In response to changing patient needs, small adjustments in practice result in tremendous improvement in the wellness of mothers and infants. Conducting perinatal screening for mood disorders addresses this need.
Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:
Collaboration between Antepartum, Labor & Delivery, Postpartum, Social Work, Health Information Systems, and Maternal Outreach resulted in the birth of the Perinatal Mood Disorders Program. Upon admission to Antepartum or Labor & Delivery, patients are asked questions from the chosen screening tool. A new ‘Social Services Consult’ tab and screening questions with the corresponding weighted answers are part of the admission assessment. Any score reflecting the potential for mood disorders automatically alerts the admitting RN to enter a Maternal Child Social Services or Physician Consult through the electronic order entry system. Further evaluation and appropriate referrals are then provided. Hospital policies reflect nomenclature changes and incorporate new processes.
After discussions with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, explaining the purpose of the program, the need for perinatal screening and educational materials, along with the overall goal of the project, English and Spanish educational booklets are graciously provided each month, at no charge.
In addition, a “Community Resource Guide to Mental Health” is provided as a supplement for each patient. This supplement contains mental health providers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and support group/counseling resources along with the contact numbers available within the region.
Trending data and reporting reflects the increase in number of consults, indicating the impact to those patients who would have remained unrecognized and undiagnosed.
Implications for nursing practice:
By addressing perinatal mood disorders, women are assessed, screened, and treated as needed to ensure the health of both the mother and newborn. Negative connotations with mental health issues can be eliminated with compassionate care, focused on the well-being of the family.
Keywords: Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychosis