Screening for Antenatal Depression by Midwives in Low Resource Settings in Primary Care Settings in Malawi

Abstract

Depression significantly contributes to the disease burden of pregnant women. However, depression is often under diagnosed by health professionals especially in antenatal clinics. This is the situation in Malawi where there is no routine screening for depression in antenatal clinics. Nonetheless, screening can enable the effective management of pregnant women with depression at antenatal clinics. There is therefore a need to integrate screening for depression into routine antenatal services to enhance the early identification of antenatal depression and intervention to improve and maintain the well-being of pregnant women and contribute towards achieving the efforts of the Government of Malawi in scaling up the treatment of depression.