Provider communication on perinatal depression: a population-based study

Women's lack of knowledge on symptoms of perinatal depression and treatment resources is a barrier to receiving care. We sought to estimate the prevalence and predictors of discussing depression with a prenatal care provider. We used the 2011 population-based data from 24 sites participating in the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (n = 32,827 women with recent live births) to examine associations between maternal characteristics and report that a prenatal care provider discussed with her what to do if feeling depressed during or after pregnancy. Overall, 71.9 % of women reported discussing perinatal depression with their prenatal care provider (range 60.7 % in New York City to 85.6 % in Maine). Women were more likely to report a discussion on perinatal depression with their provider if they they were 18-29 years of age than over 35 years of age compared to older (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] 18 to 19 y = 1.08, 20 to 24 y = 1.10, 25 to 29 y = 1.09), unmarried (aPR = 1.07) compared to married, had <12 years of education (aPR = 1.05) compared to > 12 years, and had no previous live births (aPR = 1.03) compared to ≥ 1 live births. Research is needed on effective ways to educate women about perinatal depression and whether increased knowledge on perinatal depression results in higher rates of treatment and shorter duration of symptoms.