Early intervention for perinatal depression.

Objective: This study was undertaken to design a process that effectively identifies and facilitates early intervention for women in an obstetrics clinic who are at risk for postpartum depression.

Study Design: Under this new program, labeled ISIS (Identify, Screen, Intervene, Support), we educated our new obstetric patients and clinic staff about postpartum depression through patient education classes, departmental lectures, and handouts. Then, we implemented simple procedures to identify risk factors for depression at intake and screened for depressive symptoms at the 32-week visit using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).