316
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3016.2012.01286.x
Development of a Prenatal Psychosocial Screening Tool for
Post-Partum Depression and Anxiety ppe_1286 316..327
Sheila McDonalda, Jennifer Walle, Kaitlin Forbesa, Dawn Kingstond, Heather Kehlerc, Monica Vekveda,c and Suzanne Tougha,b
Departments of aPaediatrics and bCommunity Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, cPublic Health Innovation and
Decision Support, Population and Public Health, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, dFaculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, and eFaculty of Law, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
Correspondence:
Sheila McDonald, Child
Development Centre, Alberta
Children’s Hospital, c/o 2888
Shaganappi Trail, NW,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T3B
6A8.
E-mail: sheilaw.mcdonald@ albertahealthservices.ca McDonald S, Wall J, Forbes K, Kingston D, Kehler H, Vekved M, Tough S. Development of a prenatal psychosocial screening tool for post-partum depression and anxiety.
Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2012; 26: 316–327.
Background: Post-partum depression (PPD) is the most common complication of pregnancy in developed countries, affecting 10–15% of new mothers. There has been a shift in thinking less in terms of PPD per se to a broader consideration of poor mental health, including anxiety after giving birth. Some risk factors for poor mental health in the post-partum period can be identified prenatally; however prenatal screening tools developed to date have had poor sensitivity and specificity. The objective of this study was to develop a screening tool that identifies women at risk of distress, operationalized by elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety in the post-partum period using information collected in the prenatal period.
Methods: Using data from the All Our Babies Study, a prospective cohort study of pregnant women living in Calgary, Alberta (N = 1578), we developed an