Case report of the incidence of maternal depression at a community level III, 39-Bed NICU

Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a vastly undetected, underdiagnosed, and untreated mental health concern for all mothers with infants. Having an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has an even higher impact on mothers' mental health, predisposing them to a higher rate of PPD. The aim of this project was to identify the incidence of PPD in a Level III NICU to determine appropriate intervention strategies. All mothers with NICU infants 14 to 20 days were invited to complete the 10-question Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Screening (EPDS). The EPDS was scored, and a NICU social worker discussed the results and offered resources for those with scores of ≥ 10. The incidence of positive screens at our institution was 71.9% for an EPDS score with a cutoff ≥ 10, and 50% for an EPDS score with a cutoff ≥ 13. Simple strategies, including routine screening, PPD groups, and NICU support groups, were implemented. All NICUs should know the incidence of mothers' PPD. Acting on this information flows downstream to improving the health of the infant and family.