World Health Day - Depression: let’s talk.

Today is World Health Day and the theme is Depression: let's talk. 

The Hidden Number

More than 40 percent of NICU mums experience postnatal depression (compared to 5-10 percent of moms and more than half report symptoms of anxiety and PTSD). Yet, like many aspects of mental health, PTSD following neonatal intensive care is rarely spoken about. 

Disporportionatley high rate of postnatal depression

Let's support more research, more intervention

Interventions to focus on both trauma and parental engagement with their preemie babies need to be developed and studied. But yet again, we are faced with the fact that there’s been plenty of research on PTSD in veterans, and little literature on postpartum PTSD. Doctors only began researching the disorder around 2006. 

We need to advocate for more treatment of all forms of depression particularly those that affect women disproportionately.  

Sources:

• We need to talk about PTSD in NICU Parents

• For Parents on NICU, Trauma May Last

• The Mothers Who Can't Escape the Trauma of Childbirth

• Postpartum depression screening in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: program development, implementation, and lessons learned

• Duration of Maternal Stress and Depression: Predictors of Newborn Admission to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Postpartum Depression

• Debriefing interventions for the prevention of psychological trauma in women following childbirth.