Two overlooked mood disorders in women: subsyndromal depression and prenatal depression

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to assist nurses in developing a heightened sense of awareness about two often-overlooked types of mood disorders that can have a profound effect on women lives subsyndromal depression and prenatal depression. Subsyndromal depression can no longer be considered "minor" because we now understand the intense negative effect on many women's everyday lives. Screening for this disorder needs to be a routine part of care given to women in most health care environments. Simply helping women with subsyndromal depression to recognize that they may not feel sad or blue will create new opportunities for women to seek care when they are weighed down by symptoms such as sluggishness, foggy thinking, irritability, and food cravings. Nonpharmacologic interventions for subsyndromal depression dovetail with the holistic perspective that is the hallmark of nursing practice. Prenatal depression is a particularly hazardous condition because it isa "silent" form of depression that impacts women and their developing fetuses. It is often difficult to recognize against the backdrop of pregnancy and the tendency to blame emotional changes on pregnancy hormones. Practitioners must be aware of this phenomenon and take it seriously. Prenatal depression can have far-reaching effects if left untreated, impacting the pregnant woman and following that soon-to-be-born child through-out life in various detrimental ways. The pregnant woman who is laboring through the transitions of pregnancy and preparing to transition to the mother of a newborn baby should not be further burdened by the impact of depression.