Document Type
Review
Publication Date
Spring 6-13-2024
First Page
3
Last Page
34
Abstract
Throughout pregnancy, maternal and fetal health are influenced by a multitude of factors. Prenatal maternal depression is one such factor. It is well documented that prenatal maternal depression causes negative pregnancy outcomes for both the mother and baby, including irregular placental function, psychological distress, and pre-term birth, among others. In Ontario, the incidence of prenatal maternal depression is alarmingly high, at 10.3%.As such, the current tools for managing prenatal maternal depression must be effective, efficient, and comprehensive. We hypothesized that the current protocols for screening and treating prenatal maternal depression in Canada are inadequate. To investigate this, a literature review was conducted across MEDLINE and Embase databases, as well as existing grey literature. The key search terms included but were not limited to: “depression”, “pregnancy”, “prenatal”, “maternal”, “treatment”, “SSRI”, “screening”, “SES”, “Black”, “Indigenous”, and “migrant”. This resulted in a total of 56 Canadian articles. The results of this review highlight the prevalent gaps in data collection, diagnosis, and treatments for prenatal maternal depression offered within the Canadian healthcare system. Additionally, the results show that the negative effects of this disease are exacerbated in marginalized populations, specifically, Indigenous, Black, and migrant communities, who are disproportionately affected. Thus, a comprehensive approach to diagnosing, treating, and managing prenatal maternal depression is desperately needed to ensure safer pregnancies and to reduce adverse outcomes for the mother and baby.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Included in
Community Health Commons, Interprofessional Education Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, Mental Disorders Commons, Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons, Women's Health Commons
Notes
Western Research Forum (Location: Western University) -March 15th 2024
London Health Research Day (Location: Western University) -May 7th and 8th 2024. Recipient of Poster Prize.