v Identification of maternal mental disorders:
Simple questions asked during pregnancy and in the postpartum period
may help to identify women at greater risk for mental disorders, for
instance:
Depression: “How much of the time during the last month have you felt
down hearted and blue?”
Anxiety: “How much of the time during the last month have you been a
very nervous person?”
Psychosis: “Have you been receiving any special messages from people
or from the way things are arranged around you?”
v Management and Care
The hopeful message is that 70-80 per cent of women with maternal
mental disorders can be successfully treated and recover! This is good
news for the woman, her infant and her family! The woman and her
partner, if appropriate, should be involved in education about
maternal mental disorders, treatment and decision-making.
Another positive message is that to a large extent, the identification
and management of most of these mental disorders can be done at
primary health care level, by first line interveners, incorporated
into primary health care routines.
The Way Ahead For Mrs. Eke
Please, take her for proper assessment with a psychiatrist. She may
need medications depending on the severity of the depression, but
counseling and therapy is a MUST. Taking the children from her will
not help, rather this may make the depression worse. The good news
like I said earlier is that depression is treatable. All the best.
•CONCLUDED