RSU seeks solutions to improve postpartum depression care
On average, 1 in 7 women worldwide suffer from postpartum depression, yet 50% of these women are not diagnosed or treated. One of the reasons is a lack of awareness of the symptoms and the belief that "it’s not that bad yet". As in the rest of the world, new mothers in Latvia also tend to neglect their mental health, to the detriment of themselves and their babies.
Elīna Zelčāne, Lecturer at the Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) Department of Health Psychology and Paedagogy, shares valuable findings of the study. Last year, RSU launched the project "Advancing Postpartum Depression Care in Latvia" that aims to validate depression screening scales and identify possible risk factors for postpartum depression in order to detect it early and improve access to treatment.
During the project, all women who attended routine gynaecological visits at the Riga Maternity Hospital outpatient department between the 4th and 6th week after giving birth were invited to fill out screening questionnaires to identify potential risk factors for postpartum depression and generalised anxiety. If the screening results indicated an increased risk, the women were invited for a remote interview with a psychiatrist within the following two weeks to assess the possible diagnosis. Four months later, on a voluntary basis, some of the women were invited for in-depth qualitative interviews to share their experiences during the postpartum period.
Although the study is still ongoing, the results so far reveal a worrying trend — none of the women diagnosed with the disorder and later interviewed had sought help from a psychiatrist. The main reasons they gave included a lack of support with childcare, logistical difficulties in attending appointments, social stigma, and a tendency for mothers to sacrifice their own needs to focus solely on the child.
These findings underline the need to strengthen the role of general practitioners in postpartum mental health care by encouraging their proactive involvement — reaching out to women, providing information support, and, where necessary, helping to ensure access to specialists. It is also essential to incorporate mental health topics into childbirth preparation courses, equipping expectant mothers with knowledge about potential emotional challenges. At the same time, the introduction of routine mental health screening should be considered to identify disorders at an early stage also for those women who may not recognise the symptoms or do not dare to seek help.
