File photo: Intermountain Healthcare
SALT LAKE CITY — Intermountain Healthcare is implementing postpartum depression screening for all moms at all their hospitals statewide by the end of the year.
Jean Millar, executive director of the Women and Newborn Clinical Program at Intermountain says the hospital group will have all their moms take the standardized screening test called the Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale in the hospital. The moms will be sent home with information on self-care.
Intermountain Healthcare has 23 hospitals state-wide, currently they screen moms for postpartum depression at Utah Valley and American Fork hospitals.
Millar tells KSL’s A Woman’s View with Amanda Dickson that the hospital group has a focus on maternal mental health.
She says sleep and nutrition are two of the key factors to helping prevent or reducing the impact of postpartum mood disorders.
Intermountain is co-sponsoring a major conference for providers Friday and Saturday to educate them on the prevalence of postpartum illnesses and how to treat them.
If you or someone you know needs help for maternal mental health issues, please visit the Utah chapter of Postpartum Support International.
