Guidelines for preventing and treating depression during and after childbirth published in leading scientific journal

The prestigious British Journal of Psychiatry has published the recommendations for prevention, screening and treatment of depression during pregnancy and after childbirth developed by a multidisciplinary team within the Research Innovation and Sustainable Pan-European Network in Peripartum Depression Disorder (Riseup-PPD), led by the University of Coimbra (UC).

These guidelines are directed at healthcare professionals, especially those working in psychiatry, psychology, nursing, obstetrics and paediatrics, who regularly interact with women and their partners throughout family planning, pregnancy and the first year after childbirth.

“It is vital that women, their partners and healthcare professionals are well informed about mental health prevention at this stage, as peripartum depression (PPD) has harmful effects not only on the mother’s wellbeing, but also on the baby’s health and development, as well as on family bonds and relationships,” explains Ana Ganho Ávila, researcher at the Centre for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention (CINEICC) of the UC Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPCEUC), who coordinated Riseup-PPD from 2019 to 2023.

This set of clinical practice recommendations can be adopted by any healthcare service, and was developed by researchers and clinicians from a variety of fields, including psychiatry, public health, obstetrics, pharmacy, ethics, information science, social services, and patient representatives from several countries — Portugal, Sweden, Croatia, Spain, Finland, Italy, Israel, Ireland, Albania, Norway and the Netherlands.

According to the researcher, “Many European countries currently do not have clinical practice guidelines for PPD; and in those where they do exist, their low methodological quality and inconsistencies may lead to disparities and inequalities in the clinical treatment of perinatal depression".

Ávila further adds that pregnancy and the first year after delivery are "times of huge psychological, physiological and social change in women's lives, and an estimated one in five women experience mental health problems during this period, with depression and anxiety being the most common problems”.

Two researchers from the Centre for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention, FPCEUC, and the Coimbra Local Health Unit participated in the development of the guidelines. The work was funded by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), a programme that supports networks fostering research collaboration across Europe.

The Evidence-Based Guidelines for Prevention, Screening and Treatment of Peripartum Depression are available here.