Japanese midwives as psychiatric diagnosticians: application of criteria of DSM-IV mood and anxiety disorders to case vignettes.

It is believed in Japan that only psychiatrists are capable of providing reliable psychiatric diagnosis. However, more awareness of mental health issues related to perinatal care means that midwives are now required to have psychiatric diagnostic skills. The purpose of the present paper was to examine how well Japanese midwives agreed with a psychiatrist on diagnoses of different psychiatric disorders.