Doctors often fail to recognize depression in new mothers

Statistics show that one in seven mothers develop mental health problems either before giving birth or in the year after.
The problem is that doctors often fail to spot signs of depression in new mothers which puts these women at risk of harming themselves or their babies.

National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence issued a new guideline which says that family doctors and other health stuff will be expected to examine women and ask them a series of questions to check if they need some kind of support and if they had felt depressed or hopeless. Those women who are in a need of psychological treatment would have to be seen within a month, and again within a further three months.
Mothers’ bad mental health has many negative effects on their children. Children of women who suffer from anxiety tend not to do well in terms of educational performance.

If doctors do not spot problems, many women will be left undiagnosed as they rarely approach on their own. They usually feel guilty for their conditions and fear that they will not be listened to or that they will be judged.

The new guidelines are about noticing problems in new mothers. Doctors should pay attention to behaviors such as anxiousness for a prolonged period, not eating, not enjoying anything, or maybe just staying in nightclothes, day after day, or find it increasingly difficult to go outside.

If such problems are diagnosed, doctors should discuss treatments with these women who may be pregnant or breastfeeding and determine the risks of taking or not taking medication to treat her illness at every stage.