Task Force Recommends Depression Screenings During and After Pregnancy For Women

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) said to ultimately reduce or completely stop depression, doctors should conduct a depression screening to women during and after pregnancy. The agency said this method can definitely help in improving women's health at the same time lessen their healthcare needs.

On Tuesday, the influential government-appointed health panel said it is important for the mothers to undergo screening as new evidence showed that maternal mental illness is becoming more common for the past years. In many cases, the agency discovered that postpartum depression actually began during pregnancy and if left untreated, it can be harmful to the well- being of the child.

The recommendation, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is actually an updated depression screening guidelines issued by the group in 2009. "We really just tried to have clearer language," Dr. Michael Pignone, a USPSTF member and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said.

Although the agency didn't mention how the proper screening should be done or how often should women be screened, Dr. Pignone said all of the women ages 18 and above should undergo screening. It is also said that the procedure could only be as simple as answering questionnaires.

Further adding that there are a lot of options available that don't have any harmful effects. And those methods include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), psychotherapy and simple observation. Pignone said that the important thing is the patient can switch to another treatment if needed and eventually be treated.

The panel also said that based on the evidence they gathered, antidepressant drugs are quite effective for the average adult with depression. And for the pregnant and lactating moms, CBT is the safest and the most effective for them.

After the released of the recommendations, Ellen L. Poleshuck, the director of the Collaborative Care Services and Women's Behavioral Health Service at the medical center, told CNN that she agreed with the recommendations for the women. "It is because we know that untreated depression in (these) women can affect the baby as well as the mother," she said.