Issues and Innovations in Nursing Practice: Early Detection and Treatment of Postnatal Depression - Essay Example

Review of Literature Summaries Review of Literature Summaries The article, Issues and Innovations in Nursing Practice… Early detection and treatment of postnatal depression in primary care is an article whose focus is PPD and the positive effects of its early detection and intervention (Davies, Howells, & Jenkins, 2003). In a longitudinal research, a three year period of time allowed researchers to assess a total of eighty six women. Data from the participants was collected through an intervention protocol utilizing the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale (EPDS) (Davies, Howells, & Jenkins, 2003). Since the first month, there was a data collection exercise after every three months postpartum from the participants. Davies, Howells, & Jenkins (2003) note that this was strategically planned so that it could coincide with the dates of set for the routine visits which are usually established for the schedule for seeing the infant screening. Thus, this plan ensured the elimination of inconveniences and interruption of the participants schedules. From the finding of the research presented in this article, there is an indication of the reduction of the risk of health disruptions caused by PPD from early detection and intervention. On the other hand, those cases which are undetected and consequently not receiving intervention around one year postpartum indicate a heightened risk of incidences of PPD as well as the associated complications (Davies, Howells, & Jenkins, 2003). From the data collected in the first three months, there was an indication that 20% of the participants suffered from postpartum depression. Interestingly, the data collected during the rest of the months through to twelve months indicated that the percentage of PPD incidences experienced a decline. This article supports the proposed change through a number of ways highlighted in the following subsequent statements. First, the article shows the fact that there is a possibility of developing PPD at any time especially during the first prenatal year (Davies, Howells, & Jenkins, 2003). Second, the article shows that using an appropriate validated screening tool, such as the EPDS used in this research, enhances the detection of PPD (Davies, Howells, & Jenkins, 2003). As a result, there can be early intervention to help those who are affected. Early identification of maternal depression as a strategy in the prevention of child abuse is an article which elaborates on the adverse effects of PPD to an individual’s social morbidity as psychological wellbeing (Scott, 1992). This article is relevant to this research for its contribution in the indication of the morbidity of PPD to the general population. An article by the title Mother-child bonding at 1 year; associations with symptoms of postnatal depression and bonding in the first few weeks a study conducted provides important literature to this research (OHiggins, Roberts, Glover, & Taylor, 2013). It particularly addresses the description of the association between post-partum depression (PPD) and the relationship of mother and infant (OHiggins, Roberts, Glover, & Taylor, 2013). Besides focusing on the persistence of the feelings of depression in the first one year of the infant, the study also explored the bonding issues between the mother and the infant. The study utilized two PPD screening simultaneously. First, a ten item self-report questionnaire which is the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale (EPDS) (OHiggins, Roberts, Glover, & Taylor, 2013). Second, was the Mother Infant Bonding Questionnaire (MIBQ), a self-rating scale too which contains two items less than the EPDS (OHiggins, Roberts, Glover, & Taylor, 2013). The findings presented in this article indicated that a comparison between higher educated women suffering from PPD and the other who were not exhibited no statistical difference. The data analyzed from the findings also showed early depressive symptoms had a strong association with the bonding scores. Thus, poor bonding was apparent between the women and their infants in cases where the women suffered from postpartum depression. Most importantly, this article reveals the efficacy of detecting PPD through the employment of more than one screening tool (OHiggins, Roberts, Glover, & Taylor, 2013). In this case, the study utilized two effective screening tools, the EPDS and MIBQ. It also indicates that, if detected early and addressed accordingly, the long term PPD effects can be avoided (OHiggins, Roberts, Glover, & Taylor, 2013). Mother-infant interaction in mother and baby unit patients: Before and after treatment is an article in which a study compares mother-infant bonding between mothers with PPD and those without (Kenny, Conroy, Pariante, Seneviratne & Pawlby, n.d). It plays an important role in this research through its support of the statement that early intervention of PPD is useful both to the mother and the child. Post-partum depression: a comprehensive approach to evaluation and treatment is an article that contains elaborate discussion regarding PPD and the effects it causes to the mother-infant relationship (Thompson, & Fox, 2010). In elaborately focused subtopics analyzing the effects of PPD to the infant, the study indicates that the infants are normally affected neurologically, socio-economically as well as their cognitive functioning (Thompson, & Fox, 2010). The analysis of the data collected indicates that, in all cultures, the prevalence rate of PPD is 10 to 15% (Thompson, & Fox, 2010). The consequences of PPD were also assessed in this research and the results provided substantial information necessary for the completion of this research. One of the adverse effects of PPD was identified to be causing of cortisol levels, especially in the placenta (Thompson, & Fox, 2010). According to Thompson & Fox (2010), to the infants, this impairs their psychobiological systems. A difference in the victims who suffer from this effect of PPD is, however, apparent. The analysis of the data collected revealed that its prevalence is actually higher in low socioeconomic background areas (Thompson, & Fox, 2010). This translated to 23-52%. This notwithstanding, its risk of recurrence is at an alarming rate of 25% (Thompson, & Fox, 2010). This article plays a very important role in this research through its profound contributions to demonstrating the gravity of the problem. It provides evidence of the adverse effects of PPD to the victims who fail detected and seek intervention in time (Thompson, & Fox, 2010). Also, it shows with early detection and intervention, the mother-infant bonding can be enhanced (Thompson, & Fox, 2010). Universal screening and early intervention for maternal mental health and attachment difficulties, is an article that dwells elaborately on the screening of PPD. It shows that 10 – 15% of mothers suffer from PPD (Milford, & Oates, 2009). Its importance to this research is its contribution of supporting the statement that, detected and given intervention in time, risks associated with PPD can be avoided. The article Symptoms of Depression Postpartum and 12 years Later-Associations to Child Mental Health at 12 years of Age is written as on a longitudinal research of a span of twelve years. It mainly demonstrates the effects of PPD on the mother-infant effects (Agnafors, Sydsjö, Dekeyser, & Svedin, 2013). It is a research that was conducted on children since they were born up to the time they were twelve years (Agnafors, Sydsjö, Dekeyser, & Svedin, 2013). These children were the participant of the research, besides their mothers, and they relied upon for the data that was to be analyzed for conclusion on the topic of study (Agnafors, Sydsjö, Dekeyser, & Svedin, 2013). In total, they were 1,707 children. The research employed three screening tools; the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Life Stress Score (LSS) as well as Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25) (Agnafors, Sydsjö, Dekeyser, & Svedin, 2013). The analysis of the data collected in this research indicated that, of all the women, those who suffered from PPD were approximately 10 – 15% (Agnafors, Sydsjö, Dekeyser, & Svedin, 2013). In addition, the analysis revealed that there was recurrence rate of 80%, of these women who had previously been diagnosed with PPD (Agnafors, Sydsjö, Dekeyser, & Svedin, 2013). The risk level was five times higher for a child whose mother suffered from PPD as compared to whose did not (Agnafors, Sydsjö, Dekeyser, & Svedin, 2013). Drawn from this article, it is important to consider an early intervention of PPD as well as the employment of the appropriate screening tools in order to do it effectively (Agnafors, Sydsjö, Dekeyser, & Svedin, 2013). The article Evidence-based recommendations for depressive symptoms in postpartum women, focuses on the difficulties in identifying PPD. It indicates that there are difficulties faced when identifying PPD from diverse cultures (McQueen, Montgomery, Lappan-Gracon, Evans, & Hunter, 2008). These difficulties may cause PPD cases go undetected and thus not intervened. The article supports the change proposed in this research addressing the awareness deficit in the process of identifying PPD. The article Maternal depressive symptoms in the postnatal period are associated with long-term impairment of mother–child bonding, is also a relevant part of this research. It contributes with the demonstration of the long term effects of PPD in the case where it does not receive intervention due to the failure of detection (Moehler, Brunner, Wiebel, Reck & Resch, 2006). Postpartum depression effects on early interactions, parenting, and safety practices is a review article whose focus is on a significant number of mothers and fathers who suffered from depression. A total of five thousand and eighty nine participants were involved in the research. The findings of this research indicate that depression affected the relationship of the parent and the child but this was varied (Field, 2010). In the case of the relationship between the child and the depressed mother, it was observed less time was spent with her infant involving them in activities which would enhance their bonding. Thus, there was less of holding and touching, playing games as well as telling stories (Field, 2010). In the case of fathers, it was substantially different as depression tended not to disrupt the father’s frequency of interactions with the child (Field, 2010). However, it was observed that the enrichment activities were affected. The findings indicated that differences were exhibited between the results collected from the mothers who received intervention from those who did not. For instance, there was less responsiveness to their children in the first six months from those depressed mothers who had not received intervention (Field, 2010). This was as opposed to the higher responsiveness to their children in the first six months from mothers who had received intervention (Field, 2010). This article shows that when diagnosed and intervened in time, PPD effects which would cause disruptions in the mother-child relationship can be avoided. The effects of post-natal depression on a child’ appeared in Psychoanalytic is an article which discusses the mother-infant relationship for cases of mothers whose PPD was undetected and thus not treated. Again, this article presents the importance of early detection and intervention of PPD. A look at the article Effects of early mother–infant intervention on outcomes in mothers and moderately and late preterm infants at age 1 year: A randomized controlled trial is also relevant to this research. It essentially presents an elaboration of the magnitude of women who develop post-partum depression. In the research findings presented in the article, they indicate that the early intervention of PPD lessened its prevalence significantly on those patients who had developed PPD (Ravn, Smith, Smeby, Kynoe, Sandvik, Bunch & Lindemann, 2012). Also, there was the indication that the mother-child attachment was significantly affected (Ravn, Smith, Smeby, Kynoe, Sandvik, Bunch & Lindemann, 2012). The study presented in this article performed a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) utilizing the Mother-Infant Transaction Program (MITP) tool (Ravn, Smith, Smeby, Kynoe, Sandvik, Bunch & Lindemann, 2012). The article is an important part of this research for its contribution of confirming that early intervention of PPD indeed enhances mother-child interactions as opposed to cases where there is no intervention. The article Research report: Long-term outcomes of participants in a perinatal depression early detection program also addresses the issue of the long term effects of PPD and the effects they have on the mother-child bonding. It is an article that provides sample information relevant to gravity of the issue being addressed by this research. Early screening of postpartum depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is an article which presents the discussion on that the period between the times of birth up to when their children are two years, 20% of mothers are depressed. In addition it discusses the effects of PPD and the essence of its early detection and intervention (Sharan, Kaplan, Weizer, Sulkes, & Merlob, 2006). Consequently, the article proves to be relevant to this research in the information it provides regarding the criticality of early detection and intervention of PPD. The article Long-term effects of a home-visiting intervention for depressed mothers and their infants conducts a comparative study. This study involves two groups. The first group is composed of those who had an early intervention for a diagnosis of PPD (Kersten-Alvarez, Hosman, Riksen-Walraven, Van Doesum, & Hoefnagels, 2010). The other group consists of twenty nine pairs different in that they did not receive any intervention (Kersten-Alvarez, Hosman, Riksen-Walraven, Van Doesum, & Hoefnagels, 2010). The study utilized a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) to evaluate the effects of long term effects of an intervention for the participants (Kersten-Alvarez, Hosman, Riksen-Walraven, Van Doesum, & Hoefnagels, 2010). A power analysis was as well performed utelizing one-way ANOVAs and Chi-square tests (Kersten-Alvarez, Hosman, Riksen-Walraven, Van Doesum, & Hoefnagels, 2010). The findings indicated that fewer behavioral problems were exhibited by the children who had had an intervention (Kersten-Alvarez, Hosman, Riksen-Walraven, Van Doesum, & Hoefnagels, 2010). Those who did not receive intervention exhibited more behavioral problems. Worth drawing from this article is the importance of early intervention in order to avoid complications associated with PPD. References Agnafors, S., Sydsjö, G., Dekeyser, L., & Svedin, C. (2013). Symptoms of Depression Postpartum and 12 years Later-Associations to Child Mental Health at 12 years of Age. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 17(3), 405-414. doi:10.1007/s10995-012-0985-z. Davies, B. R., Howells, S., & Jenkins, M. (2003). Issues and Innovations in Nursing Practice. Early detection and treatment of postnatal depression in primary care. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 44(3), 248-255. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02799.x. Emanuel, L. (2006). Disruptive and distressed toddlers: The impact of undetected maternal depression on infants and young children1An earlier version of this paper titled ‘The effects of post-natal depression on a child’ appeared in Psychoanalytic.. Infant Observation, 9(3), 249-259. doi:10.1080/13698030601070722. Field, T. (2010). Postpartum depression effects on early interactions, parenting, and safety practices: A review. Infant Behavior & Development, 33(1), 1-6. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2009.10.005. Kenny, M., Conroy, S., Pariante, C., Seneviratne, G., & Pawlby, S. (n.d). Mother-infant interaction in mother and baby unit patients: Before and after treatment. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 47(9), 1192-1198 Kersten-Alvarez, L. E., Hosman, C. H., Riksen-Walraven, J., Van Doesum, K. M., & Hoefnagels, C. (2010). Long-term effects of a home-visiting intervention for depressed mothers and their infants. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 51(10), 1160-1170. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02268.x. McQueen, K., Montgomery, P., Lappan-Gracon, S., Evans, M., & Hunter, J. (2008). Evidence-based recommendations for depressive symptoms in postpartum women. JOGNN: Journal Of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 37(2), 127-136. doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.2008.00215.x. Milford, R., & Oates, J. (2009). Universal screening and early intervention for maternal mental health and attachment difficulties. Community Practitioner, 82(8), 30-33. Moehler, E., Brunner, R. R., Wiebel, A. A., Reck, C. C., & Resch, F. F. (2006). Maternal depressive symptoms in the postnatal period are associated with long-term impairment of mother–child bonding. Archives Of Womens Mental Health, 9(5), 273-278. doi:10.1007/s00737-006-0149-5. OHiggins, M., Roberts, I., Glover, V., & Taylor, A. (2013). Mother-child bonding at 1 year; associations with symptoms of postnatal depression and bonding in the first few weeks. Archives of Womens Mental Health, 16(5), 381-389. doi:10.1007/s00737-013-0354-y. Ravn, I., Smith, L., Smeby, N., Kynoe, N., Sandvik, L., Bunch, E., & Lindemann, R. (2012). Effects of early mother–infant intervention on outcomes in mothers and moderately and late preterm infants at age 1 year: A randomized controlled trial. Infant Behavior & Development, 35(1), 36-47. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2011.09.006. Reay, R., Matthey, S., Ellwood, D., & Scott, M. (2011). Research report: Long-term outcomes of participants in a perinatal depression early detection program. Journal of Affective Disorders, 12994-103. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2010.07.035. Scott, D. (1992). Early identification of maternal depression as a strategy in the prevention of child abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16345-358. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(92)90044-R. Sharan, H., Kaplan, B., Weizer, N., Sulkes, J., & Merlob, P. (2006). Early screening of postpartum depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. International Journal of Risk & Safety In Medicine, 18(4), 213-218. Thompson, K., & Fox, J. E. (2010). Post-partum depression: a comprehensive approach to evaluation and treatment. Mental Health in Family Medicine, 7(4), 249-257. Read More