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International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience | ISSN: 1522-4821 | Volume 20
November 26-27, 2018 | Los Angeles, USA
Psychiatry, Mental Health Nursing and Healthcare
World Summit on
Applied Psychology, Psychiatry and Mental Health
International Conference on
&
Lessening maternal depression with a three-week emotional wellness visit
Christine D Kowaleski
Doctoral Candidate Crouse Healthcare, Syracuse, USA
P
ostpartum depression is the number one complication of pregnancy and can cause long-term morbidity to the mother, infant,
family and society. Increasing identification of cases of maternal depression detected at the six-week postpartum visit led to a
quality improvement project to test if a three-week postpartum emotional wellness visit would identify depressed mothers earlier
than the traditional six-week visit, leading to earlier treatment and less morbidity for mother and baby. A twenty-minute psycho-
educational session on managing depression and a postpartum depression resource toolkit including resources were given to a group
of women at the three-week emotional wellness visit. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) tool was used to determine
if depression was present at three weeks and administered to 31 participants. The depression screening was repeated at six weeks
postpartum. A random sample (n=31) who did not participate in the QI project was used as a comparison to determine success.
Results indicated that those who participated in the project had significantly decreased depression scores (p<0.01) at six-weeks
postpartum (Mdn=5, SD=3.6) than those from the control group (Mdn=8, SD=5.1). This pilot project suggests that a three-week
postpartum emotional wellness intervention may increase early identification and intervention for depression in postnatal women.
Limitations of the project included a woman’s honesty answering the EPDS and the lack of three-week EPDS scores for the control
group. Maternal depression’s profound impact on the entire family, including the development of the infant, demands proactive
attention such as earlier assessment beginning a trajectory toward the prevention of PPD. This presentation explains the theory
behind the success of this program and the implementation process for all practices..
ckowaleski@yahoo.comInt J Emerg Ment Health, Volume 20
DOI: 10.4172/1522-4821-C5-024