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Recommendations for health and social care professionals

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This section provides the recommendations for health and social care professionals from SIGN 169: Perinatal mental health conditions.External hyperlink

It covers recommendations on screening and treatment for women/birthing parents at risk of, or experiencing, a mental health condition during or in the 12-month period after pregnancy. It covers women/birthing parents with a history of, or experiencing one, or more of the following:

  • anxiety disorders, including generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), psychological birth trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • mood disorders, including depression and bipolar affective disorder
  • postpartum psychosis and management of psychosis in the perinatal period
  • borderline personality disorder.

Recommendations from SIGN are highlighted in green boxes with the following symbols:

evidence-based recommendations (EBR) – a recommendation formulated after a systematic review of the evidence.

consensus-based recommendation (CBR) – a recommendation formulated in the absence of quality evidence.

Good practice point- suggestions for good practice based on clinical experience.