Mothers in England will be asked in detail if pregnancy or giving birth has affected their mental health as a result of new NHS guidance to GPs.
The move is part of a drive by NHS England to improve support for women suffering postnatal depression or other mental health problems linked to their pregnancy or childbirth.
Under the new guidance GPs will ask women more questions than before about how they are feeling when they attend their postnatal health check six to eight weeks after giving birth.
Family doctors will look for any sign that the woman may have a condition such as postnatal PTSD as a result of experiencing a traumatic birth or psychosis induced by bearing a child.
Anyone who the GP feels needs help with their mental wellbeing will be referred to specialist maternal mental health services, which have been expanded in recent years.
One in four of the 600,000 women a year who gives birth in England develops a mental health problem as a result of her pregnancy or experience of giving birth.
NHS England has drawn up the new guidance – the first of its kind – with the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) in an attempt to reduce suffering, tackle the annual £8.1bn cost of maternal mental ill-health and lower the risk that a new mother may take her own life.
“Mothers should be supported after giving birth. This includes being able to get the mental and physical health support needed for a healthy recovery, while giving newborns the best start in life,” said Victoria Atkins, the health secretary.
The health check is also an opportunity for mothers to ask about physical health problems.
“This new advice for GPs around the long-term health implications of conditions that may first appear during pregnancy such as gestational diabetes, hypertension and depression, will mean women are offered guidance about conditions that may develop or become more severe in later life,” said Dame Lesley Regan, the women’s health ambassador for the government.
Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the RCGP’s chair, said the guidance “recognises the importance and complexity of the six to eight-week postnatal consultation, highlighting the opportunity to identify and offer evidence-based treatment for issues such as postnatal mental health problems and pelvic health complications of pregnancy and birth.”
But GPs need more time to help women who have recently given birth because many postnatal conditions require longer appointments than the standard 10 minutes and then will require follow-up consultations, she added.
