Mental health service use among pregnant and early postpartum women.
Lee-Carbon L., Nath S., Trevillion K., Byford S., Howard LM., Challacombe FL., Heslin M.
PURPOSE: To explore the proportion and characteristics of women with a mental disorder who have contact with mental health services during pregnancy and the postnatal period in a maternity service in London. METHODS: Data from the WEll-being in pregNancy stuDY (WENDY), a prospective cohort study, were used. Women were recruited at their first appointment for antenatal care and assessed for mental disorders using the Structured Clinical Interview DSM-IV Axis I/II Disorders for Research. Clinical, sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics were collected. Mental health service use data were collected for the period from study entry to 3 months postpartum. RESULTS: Two hundred women met diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. Fifty-five (34%) of these had at least one contact with mental health services. Moderate depression (OR 7.44, CI 2.03-27.28, p