A national approach to perinatal mental health in Australia: exercising caution in the roll-out of a public health initiative.

Full Abstract

Perinatal depression is an important public health issue, with major consequences for the mother, child and family. Perinatal depression is often associated with anxiety and other mental health and psychosocial issues. The National Perinatal Depression Plan (NPDP) proposes routine screening during pregnancy and after birth, follow-up support for women assessed to be at risk of or experiencing depression, and training for health professionals. Identifying women at risk of or experiencing perinatal depression is difficult, and there is no standard tool used by all hospitals to assess women's emotional health and psychosocial comorbidities. The NPDP provides an opportunity to develop and evaluate new approaches to assessing perinatal depression and a range of psychosocial issues, and to test strategies for supporting women and their families before and after birth.

Author information

Author/s: Yelland, Jane S (JS); Sutherland, Georgina A (GA); Wiebe, Jan L (JL); Brown, Stephanie J (SJ);

Affiliation: Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC. jane.yelland(-atsign-)mcri.edu.au

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Review

Journal: The Medical journal of Australia (Med J Aust), published in Australia. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 191 (issue 5) : pp 276-9

Dates: Created 2009/09/10; Completed 2009/11/03;

PMID: 19740052, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/3/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.