Comparing parents’ and midwives / obstetricians’ knowledge, causal attributions and attitudes towards perinatal depression

Peripartum depression (i.e. during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth; PPD; 7-13% of mothers) is often associated with poor maternal and child outcomes. PPD remains often unrecognized, undiagnosed and untreated. The barriers to help-seeking include stigma, fear of being considered as a “bad mother”, lack of dedicated training for midwives and obstetricians and lack of integral care approach in obstetrics and midwifery. Midwives and obstetricians are key stakeholders for the screening and referral of women with peripartum depression to mental health providers.

The project aims to compare parents’ and obstetric providers’ knowledge, causal attributions and attitudes towards PPD in different EU countries. Additionally, it will attempt to: identify the impact of vignette-related (e.g. gender, peripartum period, clinical severity), participant-related (e.g. age, gender, and type of training for providers) or country-related factors on knowledge, causal attributions and attitudes towards PPD; determine the impact of clinicians’ attitudes towards mental illness and whether clinicians’ attitudes differ depending on the type of provider (midwives vs. obstetricians) and the country considered.