Mental illness related to pregnancy can have long-lasting consequences. Healthcare providers are the most frequent medical contact with the potential for early detection of these. Objectives were to study the awareness regarding mental health problems during pregnancy and the postpartum period among healthcare providers.
A cross-sectional study was carried out with healthcare providers, including the nursing staff, midwifery staff, and medical officers working at obstetric wards in three tertiary care hospitals in Sri Lanka.
A total of 300 staff were approached and invited to participate. Only 152 responded to the questionnaire. More than 35 years of healthcare providers are associated with statistically significant average knowledge scores on the consequences of maternal mental health problems. However, some of the few aspects are not satisfactory. Health education of pregnant women, promoting regular in-service training sessions, improving infrastructure, and family members’ involvement from the antenatal period was discussed by the majority.
The study concluded that despite good overall awareness and knowledge, application into practice with validated assessments is poor. This may probably explain why Sri Lanka has a high prevalence of postpartum depression, suggesting urgent attention.
Reference: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jp/2020/4926702/
