The Public’s views of mental health in pregnant and postpartum women: a population-based study

BACKGROUND: We used population-based data to determine the public’s views of prenatal and postnatal mental health and to identify predictors of those views. METHODS: A computer-assisted telephone survey was conducted by the Population Health Laboratory (University of Alberta) with a random sample of participants from the province of Alberta, Canada. Respondents were eligible to participate if they were: 1) ≥18 years; and 2) contacted by direct dialing. Questions were drawn from the Perinatal Depression Monitor, an Australian population-based survey on perinatal mental health; additional questions were developed and tested to reflect the Canadian context. Descriptive and multivariable regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Among the 1207 respondents, 74.7% had post-secondary education, 16.3% were in childbearing years, and over half (57.4%) reported knowing a woman who had experienced postpartum depression. Significantly more respondents had high levels of knowledge of postnatal (87.4%) than prenatal (70.5%) mental health (p < .01). Only 26.6% of respondents accurately identified that prenatal anxiety/depression could negatively impact child development. Personal knowledge of a woman with postpartum depression was a significant predictor of prenatal and postnatal mental health knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: While the public’s knowledge of postnatal mental health is high, knowledge regarding prenatal mental health and its influence on child development is limited. Strategies for improving perinatal mental health literacy should target these knowledge deficits.