Implementation of Postpartum Depression Screening for Women Participating in the WIC Program

Abstract

Introduction:

The national average for the occurrence of postpartum depression (PPD) is 11.5%. Women enrolled in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program are at an elevated risk for PPD symptoms due to risk factors such as a low income, unemployment, low education level, and younger maternal age.

Aim:

To implement screening for PPD symptoms using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) (1987) for women participating in the local WIC program with an infant <12 months old and compare results of positive screenings to the national average. The second goal was to provide community resources to those women with a positive score.

Methods:

Of 72 women screened, 69 scores were used in the comparison of the positive scores to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention average of 11.5%. Women were offered community resources after completion of the EPDS.

Results:

There were 13 positive scores out of the sample size of 69. The percentage of positive scores obtained from these data were 18.84% for the WIC population, which is higher than the national average of 11.5%. This was significant with p = .0494. One limitation of this project was a small sample size.

Conclusion:

It would be beneficial for the WIC program to screen women for PPD symptoms in this high-risk population, so that recommendations for follow-up care could be made and quality of life could be increased.