Prevalence of Postpartum Depression in Adolescents in an Urban Teen Clinic

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of postpartum depression (PPD) screening, the prevalence of PPD, and the factors associated with PPD screening amongst adolescents and young adults (AYA) at a free urban teen clinic.

We conducted a retrospective chart review of postpartum visits at a free urban teen health clinic serving AYA ages 13-24. Two trained researchers extracted study data including patient demographics, pregnancy outcomes, time from delivery to first postpartum clinic visit, prenatal mental health diagnoses, and postpartum mental health assessments from charts between 2017 and 2022 with a postpartum visit billing code.

280 charts were retrieved from which nine were excluded. The majority of subjects identified as White and Hispanic or Latino. Ages ranged from 14 to 24 years and most were 18-24 at the time of the infant's birth. 103 (35.2%) were publicly insured and the remainder were uninsured. 140 (51.7%) of patients received PPD screening with the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Screen or a validated alternative, though the rate of PPD screening significantly improved (p < 0.00001) after clinic flow was changed in 2020. Of those screened (n = 140), the rate of positive scores was 9.9%, lower than expected.

Despite clinical recommendations, only just over half of AYA women had documented mental health screening at the time of postpartum visits. Rates of PPD in this sample were low. As PPD is an adverse childhood event with lifelong implications for the parent and child, efforts to improve PPD screening are warranted.