Recognizing and Managing Postpartum Depression in the Trenches

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a significant public health concern, but programs to improve recognition of the condition have not consistently yielded better outcomes. Investigators conducted a randomized trial involving 1897 women seen in 28 family medicine practices across the U.S. to determine the effectiveness of usual care versus an intervention to promote screening for and management of PPD. Usual care consisted of postpartum and mental health care or referral processes already in place. The intervention consisted of staff training in multistep screening, diagnosis (using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Patient Health Questionnaire; higher scores indicated depression), and management that included pharmacotherapy, cou…