Attention Focused On Postpartum Depression ?
Q: All of these cases are being blamed on severe forms of postpartum
depression and psychosis. And each is so disturbing that it has led to
public questioning about what can make a mother kill herself or her
children. It has also stepped up the struggle to figure out ways for
physicians who treat pregnant women to become better at screening and
treating the disorder, which is widely believed to be underdiagnosed
and undertreated.
A:"Many patients are going to be seen by obstetricians, pediatricians,
family practice docs and internists before they're going to be seen by
a psychiatrist, particularly in the postpartum period," said Carol
A: Bernstein, MD, associate professor of clinical psychiatry with New York University School of Medicine. "The challenge for the profession as a whole is to make sure that physicians in all disciplines are cued in as to what to look for," said Dr. Bernstein. Postpartum depression of varying degrees is estimated to strike 10% to 30% of all women who give birth. But fewer than 1% are afflicted with postpartum psychosis. Women who kill themselves or their children are the rare extremes, but the disorder can have severe, less deadly effects on everyone in the family.