In early 2019, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement1 recognizing that “maternal depression affects the whole family” and urging pediatric providers to “incorporate recognition and management of perinatal depression into pediatric practice.” Soon after, the US Preventive Services Task Force issued new recommendations on interventions to prevent perinatal depression.2 The convergence of these 2 statements from nationally recognized bodies of experts in evidence-based medicine underscores the urgency of a heightened focus on screening and making referrals for perinatal depression in pediatric practice.
The new recommendations do not go far enough and risk being out of touch with contemporary American families. The US Preventive Services Task Force evidence review and recommendations are focused exclusively on interventions to prevent maternal depression. The AAP statement acknowledged paternal postpartum depression (PPD) as an established clinical problem yet called for pediatricians to screen solely mothers at the 1-, 2-,...
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