Screening & Identification

Perinatal Mental Health Screening: A Complete Guide for OBGYNs and Clinical Providers

Birth Trauma Explained: What It Is, Why It Happens, and Who It Affects

Birth trauma is a recognized clinical condition, not just a bad memory or an overreaction to a difficult delivery. Understanding what makes a birth traumatic, how it affects the brain, and why some people develop lasting symptoms while others don't helps explain why recovery requires more than time.

The Emotional Experience of Infertility: What's Actually Happening

Infertility produces a specific kind of emotional suffering that most people don't anticipate and that the people around them often don't understand. Naming what's actually happening — the grief, the loss of control, the identity disruption — is the first step toward being able to address it.

Antenatal Screening: Catching Depression and Anxiety Before Birth

Prenatal depression and anxiety are more prevalent than postpartum presentations and predict postpartum PMAD. Screening protocols, risk stratification, and referral thresholds for OBGYNs and midwives.

How to Deliver a Positive PMAD Screening Result to a Patient

Evidence-based language and clinical approaches for disclosing a positive PMAD screen, addressing patient ambivalence, and initiating a referral in a way that maximizes follow-through.

EPDS vs. PHQ-9 vs. GAD-7: Which Screening Tool for Which Perinatal Setting?

A practical comparison of validated PMAD screening tools: psychometric properties, cutoff scores, clinical limitations, and which tool fits which practice context.

PMAD Screening in Fertility Patients: When and How to Start

Fertility patients face elevated PMAD risk beginning at treatment initiation, long before delivery. Screening protocols, timing recommendations, and referral strategies for REIs, fertility nurses, and reproductive endocrinologists.

PMAD Screening in Clinical Practice: A Complete Reference for Perinatal Providers

Screening tools, cutoff scores, timing recommendations, and referral thresholds for depression and anxiety across the perinatal period. A clinical reference for OBGYNs, midwives, pediatricians, and all providers working with perinatal patients.

Screening for Postpartum Depression at the 1- and 2-Month Pediatric Well Visit

Why the pediatric office is a critical touchpoint for maternal mental health, how to implement AAP-recommended EPDS screening at well visits, and how to act on positive results within a pediatric scope.

Postpartum OCD and Intrusive Thoughts: What Screening Tools Miss

Postpartum OCD is underidentified because standard screening tools are not designed to capture it. Recognizing ego-dystonic intrusive thoughts, distinguishing OCD from psychosis, and what treatment looks like for this population.

Universal vs. Risk-Based PMAD Screening: What the Evidence Says

Should all perinatal patients receive standardized depression screening, or should resources focus on high-risk groups? A review of the evidence comparing universal and targeted screening approaches.

Scope of Practice and Clinical Liability in Perinatal Mental Health

A comprehensive reference on the legal and clinical standards that govern perinatal mental health screening, documentation, referral, and mandatory reporting — with practical guidance for OBGYNs, CNMs, NPs, and hospital providers.

PMAD Screening Mandates by State: What OBs Are Required to Do

State-level PMAD screening requirements vary significantly. A reference for OBGYNs, CNMs, and hospital providers covering mandated screening statutes, educational requirements, hospital discharge rules, and where federal guidelines intersect with state law.

The Standard of Care for PMAD Screening: ACOG, AAP, and USPSTF Guidelines

What ACOG, AAP, and USPSTF actually recommend for PMAD screening — and what those recommendations mean for perinatal providers in clinical practice and in liability contexts.

Provider Liability When a Patient's Perinatal Mental Health Is Missed

Missed PMAD diagnoses are a growing source of malpractice litigation. A practical overview of where liability arises, what the plaintiff arguments look like, and what clinical practices reduce exposure.

Midwife Scope of Practice in Perinatal Mental Health: A State-by-State Overview

CNMs and CPMs occupy different legal scopes in different states, with significant implications for PMAD screening, prescribing authority, and referral obligations. A reference guide covering the CNM-CPM scope distinction, state variation, and practical implications for midwifery practice.

EPDS vs. PHQ-9 vs. GAD-7: Choosing a PMAD Screening Tool for OB and Midwifery Practices

Compare EPDS, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 cutoff scores, sensitivity data, and clinical timing to choose the right PMAD screening tool for your OB or midwifery practice.

PMAD Screening for NICU Parents: A Guide for Hospital Staff

NICU parents are screened for PMADs far less often than OB patients. This guide covers appropriate tools, timing, and the social work role in closing that gap.

Perinatal Mental Health Screening for Fertility Patients

Fertility patients carry elevated PMAD risk that the receiving OB rarely knows about. This guide covers the handoff screening gap and what each provider can do.

Postpartum Mental Health Screening at the Well-Child Visit

AAP guidelines recommend EPDS screening at 1-, 2-, 4-, and 6-month well-child visits. This guide covers what to do when a parent scores above threshold.

The PMAD Detection Gap in OB Practice: How Many of Your Patients Are Being Missed

Most OB practices identify fewer than 1 in 10 postpartum patients with PMADs. This guide examines why the gap persists and what systematic screening changes.

Prenatal Anxiety Screening in OB and Midwifery Practice

GAD-7 is the preferred prenatal anxiety screen. This guide covers scoring thresholds, when to administer during pregnancy, and how to respond to a positive result.

Perinatal PTSD and Birth Trauma Screening: Clinical Guide

Screen for perinatal PTSD and birth trauma using validated tools. Covers PCL-5, City Birth Trauma Scale, risk factors, optimal timing, and ICD-10 coding.

PMAD Screening in BIPOC and Underserved Perinatal Patients

PMAD rates are higher in BIPOC perinatal patients but detection is lower. Covers EPDS limitations, disclosure barriers, and adjusted clinical screening practice.

Paternal Postpartum Depression Screening: A Clinical Guide

Paternal PPD affects roughly 10% of new fathers and is largely unscreened. This guide covers validated tools, clinical presentation, and who should screen.

Postpartum Psychosis: Risk Identification for OB Providers

Postpartum psychosis affects 1-2 per 1,000 births and is a psychiatric emergency. This guide covers risk factors, clinical signs, and escalation for OB providers.

PMAD Prevalence in Primary Care: Why Your Panel Has More Cases Than You Think

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders affect 1 in 5 birthing patients. A clinical look at why PCP panels carry more PMAD cases than commonly recognized.

Why PCPs Miss PMADs: Brief Visits, Limited Training, and Patient Minimization

Most PMAD cases in primary care go undetected. A clinical breakdown of the visit, training, and patient-side barriers driving the diagnostic gap.

Perinatal Mental Health and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: The Clinical Overlap Patients Don't Disclose

Pelvic floor PTs routinely treat patients with untreated perinatal mental health conditions. Learn the clinical overlap and what to observe within your scope.

Birth Trauma and PTSD in Pelvic Floor PT Patients: How Traumatic Delivery Affects Treatment Response

Birth trauma and PTSD are common in pelvic floor PT patients and directly impair treatment response. Learn what to observe within your scope and when to refer.

Identifying Perinatal Mental Health Red Flags in Pelvic Floor PT: What to Observe Within Your Scope

Learn which perinatal mental health red flags are observable within pelvic floor PT scope, how to use screening tools as observation aids, and when to refer.

Perinatal Mental Health in Occupational Therapy: Recognizing the Postpartum Functional Decline Gap

Postpartum OT patients with untreated PMADs show functional decline that PT cannot explain. Learn the clinical overlap and what to observe within your scope.

Functional Decline as a Mental Health Signal in Postpartum OT: What to Observe and Document

Learn how to identify PMAD-related functional decline within OT scope, use screening tools as observation aids, and document observations that support referral.

Identifying PMADs in NICU Parents: A Nursing and Social Work Guide

NICU parents face PMAD rates 2 to 3 times higher than the general postpartum population. Practical screening protocols, communication strategies, and referral workflows for NICU nurses, social workers, and developmental care teams.

EPDS in Primary Care: Implementation Guide for Family and Internal Medicine

How to implement the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in family medicine and internal medicine. Scoring, workflow, and follow-up for primary care.

Screening for Perinatal Anxiety at the 6-Week Postpartum Visit

Why perinatal anxiety is more common than depression, and how to screen for it efficiently at the 6-week postpartum visit in primary care.

EPDS and PHQ-4 in Allied Health Settings: A Practical Guide for Pelvic Floor PTs and OTs

A practical reference on using the EPDS and PHQ-4 as observation aids in pelvic floor PT and OT settings -- administration, scoring, documentation, and referral thresholds.