The Trouble With Don't Ask, Don't Tell

ABSTRACT

This article is a comment on Vaswani, Karter, Cosgrove, Peters, and Brodt's (2018) article “Depression Screening During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: Enhancing Informed Consent Practices.” Depression is the most common psychiatric illness women experience, and it can have serious implications for women's lives. Here, we review research on the effects of depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period on both mother and fetus/infant. We argue that informed consent requires both a discussion of the effects of antidepressants and the potential impact of not taking medications.

KEYWORDS:

• major depression
• bipolar disorder
• pregnancy
• postpartum
• screening
• informed consent

Conflicts of interest

Dr. Payne holds a patent for epigenetic biomarkers of postpartum depression; has consulted for SAGE Therapeutics, Eli Lilly, and Abbott Pharmaceuticals; has received research funding from SAGE Therapeutics; and serves on a Relapse Adjudication Committee for an esketamine trial for Johnson and Johnson. Her co-authors have no potential conflicts to declare.