Perinatal mental health and psychosocial screening
Health care is provided in many ways during and after pregnancy, depending on the woman’s health care needs, personal preference, individual circumstances and where they live. Settings include public hospitals, private hospitals, antenatal clinics, maternal and child health services, local primary health care services, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and outreach home visits.
Perinatal mental health and psychosocial screening involves asking women a series of questions about their current and past emotional and social wellbeing, to detect signs, symptoms and risk factors for having or developing a mental health condition. This can be done as part of routine pregnancy (antenatal or prenatal) and postnatal care by midwives, obstetricians, and other health care providers. Opportunities to conduct perinatal mental health screening vary depending on the type and timing of maternal services during the woman’s pregnancy.
Perinatal mental health screening is an important tool to identify at-risk women who may benefit from further support and formal mental health assessment. Perinatal mental health conditions are underdiagnosed during routine pregnancy care without routine screening (Willey et al. 2020).
Willey SM, Blackmore RP, Gibson-Helm ME, Ali R, Boyd LM, McBride J and Boyle JA (2020) ‘If you don’t ask… you don’t tell”: Refugee women’s perspectives on perinatal mental health screening’, Women and Birth, 33(5):e429–e437, doi:10.1016/j.wombi.2019.10.003.