An evaluation of the mental health of servicewomen in the perinatal period

Abstract Background Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health disorders during the perinatal period. The aims of this study were to observe the potential scale and impact of perinatal low mood in the military population, to ascertain if patients were recognised and treated appropriately during maternity leave and to identify potential barriers to care. Methods A 10-question survey was designed using an online platform in consultation with military community mental health professionals, and sent out via Royal Naval maternity cells and relevant social media. Results Of 249 respondents, 68% had concerns regarding their mood in the perinatal period; 54% were unaware they could access help from Defence mental health during maternity leave and 65% had one or more risk factors for developing perinatal mood disturbance. Using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, 54% felt that they had had a problem with perinatal low mood. Of these 71% reported having symptoms on their return to work and 80% felt that these had impacted on family relationships. Free text comments were separated into seven themes, namely: isolation, military implications, information flow between the civilian and military healthcare systems, knowledge of healthcare professionals, stigma, return to work and positive comments. Conclusions Issues explored in this paper concern: increased risk; information flow; barriers to presentation; isolation; and medical service knowledge gaps. Suggested action points include increased input from medical services into maternity groups, phone contact from sick bays to servicewomen on maternity leave, improvements in information flow, maternity-specific return to work medical, maternity leads within military practices and areas for potential future research.