Screening for Menopausal Depression: Are We Doing Enough?
Recent studies suggest that the burden of menopausal symptoms is greater than generally perceived. About 80% of women experience vasomotor symptoms (VMS) – hot flashes and night sweats — as they transition into the menopause phase. For many, the symptoms are manageable; however, a significant proportion of midlife women experience menopausal symptoms that negatively affect sleep, mood, and overall quality of life. The menopausal transition represents a time of increased vulnerability to mood and anxiety...
Recruiting at CWMH: A Neurosteroid Intervention for Menopausal and Perimenopausal Depression
Women are twice as likely as men to have major depressive disorder (MDD) during their lifetimes, and women are particularly at risk during the menopausal transition (including perimenopause and early menopause), which can last many years. Typically starting after age 40, this period is characterized by fluctuations in hormones and various physical symptoms like hot flashes, as well as mood symptoms. Although some treatments are available, many women would like to have more treatment options...
In NYC, A Home Visiting Program Addresses the Mental Health of New Mothers
In the United Kingdom (UK), health visitors (professionals who have at least three years of general nursing education and one year of specialist training) provide home visits to all women after birth as part of universal child health surveillance. These health visitors routinely screen all new mothers for depression and provide home-based treatment to mothers with mild to moderate depression. Depressed mothers are offered an intervention called a “Listening Visit”, a home-based program consisting of...
Fathers Get Depressed Too: Pediatricians Call for Expanded Screening
Many professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have pushed for a greater focus on maternal mental health as a means of improving outcomes in children and recommend universal screening for depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Fathers, however, have been left out of the picture. Given that fathers may also suffer from perinatal depression and that paternal depression, just like maternal depression, can have negative effects on the child’s well-being, this oversight...
Abortion Does Not Increase Women’s Risk for Suicide
Although abortion is a legal medical procedure in the United States, the belief that abortion is associated with adverse psychological outcomes has been the basis for legislation and policies which restrict access to abortion. At the present time 34 states currently require that women seeking an abortion receive counseling regarding the negative emotional consequences she may experience after an abortion (Guttmacher Institute). In addition, 27 states require women to wait a specified amount of time...
Internet-Delivered CBT for Depression During Pregnancy
Despite increasing attention to the mental health of expecting and new mothers, we do not have adequate numbers of health care providers with expertise in the treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and there continues to be many barriers to treatment. Using innovative strategies to deliver care to women during pregnancy and the postpartum period can help to provide access to care in this vulnerable population. A few weeks ago we wrote about the...