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Screening Tools
Recommended Guidelines
At Colorado PROSPER we are committed to providing resources designed to assist perinatal care providers in identifying and responding effectively to the mental health and substance use needs of pregnant and postpartum patients. ALL perinatal women should be screened for mental health conditions. ACOG’s Committee recommends the use of validated screeners (EPDS or PHQ9/GAD7) to screen for PMADs at: •Initial postpartum •Start of third trimester •Postpartum visits Screen for bipolar disorder before starting initial pharmacotherapy with MDQ, PDF available for download below. AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics): •1-,2-,4- and 6- month well-infant visits for the birthing parent •6 month visit for the mother’s partner •EPDS is validated for any caregiver in the perinatal period Substance Use Screening •Who? Universally, everyone •What? Validated, evidenced-based screening tools - e.g. 5P’s, NIDA Quick Screen •When? As early as possible (1st prenatal visit – ACOG; every trimester-WHO) •Why? Determine risk, screening associated w/decreased use, context for use and often high motivation to change during pregnancy/postpartum. If you are not a healthcare professional and you self-tested with any of the provided screeners, we encourage you to schedule an appointment with your primary care or obstetric provider to discuss your screening results. We are a consultation line for healthcare providers and do not provide services to patients and families directly. Reference: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2024). Implementing perinatal mental health screening. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). ACOG.org
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)
The 10-question Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale (EPDS) is a valuable and efficient way of identifying patients at risk for “perinatal” depression.
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