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Come April 1, the State Health Department will begin screening practically 10 lakh pregnant girls for psychological well being points too as a part of routine well being check-ups. The division has now included psychological well being screening questions within the “Thayi” card used for recording a pregnant lady’s well being standing all through the being pregnant.
Karnataka is the primary State within the nation to start out this initiative underneath Matru Chaitanya, a scheme that gives counselling for pregnant and lactating girls. Thayi playing cards are issued to girls searching for maternity companies by means of the general public healthcare system.
Two questions
The psychological well being screening questions have been drawn up in session with Prabha S. Chandra, Dean and Professor of Psychiatry at NIMHANS, and her group. “Have you suffered from or were treated for any mental health issues in the past?” and “Of late, have you been experiencing stress, anxiety, fear or sadness?” are the 2 screening questions listed within the 40-page Thayi card booklet. If the reply to any of the 2 questions is a “yes”, the healthcare employees are anticipated to notice it and make sure that they’re counselled and given assist to hunt therapy.
State Health Commissioner Randeep D. stated, “Apart from this mental health screening tool, we also have a provision for Hemoglobin (Hb) charting during the nine months, a provision to denote high-risk pregnancy status just by looking at the card itself (by pasting red colour flag for high risk and green for low risk or no risk on the cover page). In case of the mitigation of the risk factor, the green colour flag could be pasted over the red,” Mr. Randeep stated.
Distributed in seven districts
Rajkumar N., State Deputy Director (Maternal Health), stated the brand new playing cards have already been distributed in seven districts. “We will complete distribution in the remaining districts in another fortnight, and the mental health screening will begin on April 1. Mental health is now recognised as a crucial aspect of maternal health. Depression is also associated with lower quality of life during pregnancy, and untreated mental health issues can have adverse effects on both the mother and the child,” the physician stated.
Rajani Parthasarathy, State Deputy Director, (Mental Health), stated antenatal care mustn’t simply be restricted to the bodily well being of the mom and child but in addition the mom’s psychological well being. “Perinatal depression affects nearly 20 out of every 100 women, who are under tremendous stress due to various reasons during pregnancy and post-delivery. This is also due to hormonal changes in the body.”
Pointing out that pregnant girls are already being counselled underneath the District Mental Health Program (DMHP), Dr Rajani stated, “Several factors can contribute to depression during pregnancy, including pressure from the family, lack of a support system, work-related stress and safety fears over the baby. Asking a few basic questions about the woman’s mental health during the antenatal check-up will help early intervention.”
In Telangana too
Dr. Prabha S. Chandra stated, “Telangana is also initiating similar measures, and we are testing short questions there too. This will give us data regarding maternal mental health conditions and ensure interventions as we strengthen referral pathways.”
Pointing out that the Union Health Ministry can be eager on taking this ahead, she stated it’s now necessary to coach front-line employees on how you can ask these key questions on psychological well being. ”Sensitising well being employees and campaigning by placing up posters on psychological well being screening in all public well being care amenities is the necessity of the hour now. We need to take this ahead and advocate psychological well being screening a minimum of as soon as within the first three months post-delivery as post-partum despair can be a serious problem,” she added.
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