There is so much interesting stuff coming out right now about perinatal mood disorders I can hardly keep up!! GABA receptors, serotonin transporters, the Childbirth Connection research on the large numbers of women experiencing postpartum depression symptoms, predictors of postpartum suicide … wow.
There is yet another study, published in Qualitative Health Research, about women’s care-seeking experiences after referral for postpartum depression. I am so annoyed that I don’t have full access to this article because I’d love to read it. The small study of 18 women, conducted by researchers at McMaster University, looked at the factors that prevented women from reaching out for professional help after receiving a referral, as well as the factors that facilitated care-seeking.
Deterrents included:
- a limited understanding of PPD among women and their families
- women who wanted to wait for symptoms to improve
- discomfort discussing mental health issues
- normalizing of symptoms by the women, their families and health professionals (normalizing is the process of rendering extraordinary situations as seemingly ordinary)
- offering of interventions, or treatments, that are unacceptable to the patient
Things that were likely to lead women to seek care included:
- women not feeling like themselves and wanting to feel better
- established and supportive relationships
- outreach and follow-up
- legitimization of PPD
- timeliness of care
