Mental Health
Implementing Perinatal Mental Health Screening in Cardiac Patients
ALL perinatal women should be screened for mental health conditions. CDC research from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System shows that about 1 in 8 women with a recent live birth experience symptoms of postpartum depression. ACOG recommends screening patients at least once during the perinatal period for depression and anxiety using screening and scoring tools and, if screening in pregnancy, it should be done again postpartum. Screening at the following times may capture mental health conditions with onset at each time point:
- At the first obstetric visit to identify onset before pregnancy
- At 24-28 weeks gestation to identify onset during pregnancy
- At the comprehensive postpartum visit to identify onset that occurs in late-pregnancy or early postpartum
Some of the most studied mental health disorders associated with heart disease or related risk factors include:
- Mood disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Chronic stress
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