Doctors can and should do more to prevent depression among pregnant women and new mothers by referring them to counseling. That’s the recommendation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential panel of clinicians and researchers that makes recommendations for patient care.
“We can prevent this devastating illness and it’s about time that we did,” says clinical psychologist and researcher Karina Davidson, who is a member of the task force and helped write the recommendations, released Tuesday in JAMA.
Depression during pregnancy and in the year after childbirth is surprisingly common. It’s estimated that 1 in 7 pregnant women will suffer depression while pregnant or following childbirth.
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