2547 – Prevention and early intervention in postpartum depression risk

Post-partum depression is a significant public health problem. Birth and neonatal outcomes suffer as a result of maternal depression. As such, effectively treating depression is imperative to the overall health of mother and child. Psychopharmacological interventions are effective in alleviating depresses symptoms. However, the evidence of the safety of their use during nursing is inconclusive. Moreover, women themselves express the desire for non-psychopharmacological options when deciding to manage their depression. The efficacy of specific psychological interventions for the prevention and treatment of post-partum depression has been addressed recently by several studies. In 2011, the Mental Health Department of the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) received a grant from the Ministry of Health to assess, in Italy, the feasibility and efficacy in actual practice of the demonstrably effective approach based on clinical work and research conducted by Milgrom J. at the Infant Clinic of the Parent-Infant Research Institute, Austin & Repatriation Medical Centre, in Melbourne, Australia (Milgrom J, Negri LM, Gemmill AW, McNeil M, Martin PR., 2005). The preliminary results of that assessment will be presented at the congress.