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Objectives: To report rates of perinatal mental health screening from 2000 to 2017 and investigate factors associated with not being screened both antenatally and postnatally more recently (2013–2017). Methods: A longitudinal community-based study of self-reported perinatal mental health screening with a national sample of 7,566 mothers from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health reporting on 9,384 children. The main outcome measure was whether mothers were asked about their emotional wellbeing by a health professional, including completing a questionnaire. Results: From 2000 to 2017, the percentage of women not screened decreased from 40.6% to 1.7%. The percentage of women screened both antenatally and postnatally increased from 21.3% to 79.3%. From 2013 to 2017, women who were older (aOR, 0.65; 95%CI, 0.52–0.81) or had reported emotional distress (aOR, 0.77; 95%CI, 0.60–0.99) were less likely to have been screened both antenatally and postnatally. Conclusions: Despite improvements, perinatal mental health screening is not yet universal. One-in-five women are not screened both antenatally and postnatally, including women in high-risk populations such as those who have reported emotional distress. Implications for public health: Women are in regular contact with health professionals in the perinatal period. This opportunity to detect women at risk of perinatal mental health issues is too important to be missed.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines now recommend that women be asked about their past or current mental health as a routine component of maternity care. However, the value of this line of enquiry in increasing engagement with support services, as required, remains controversial. Aim: The current study aimed to examine whether assessment of past or current mental health, received with or without referral for additional support, is associated with help-seeking during pregnancy and the postpartum. Methods: A subsample of women drawn from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (young cohort) who reported experiencing significant emotional distress during pregnancy (N= 398) or in the 12 months following birth (N= 380) participated in the study. Results: Multivariate analysis showed that women who were not asked about their emotional health were less likely to seek any formal help during both pregnancy (adjOR = 0.09, 95%CI: 0.04-0.24) and the postpartum (adjOR = 0.07, 95%CI: 0.02-0.13), as were women who were asked about these issues but who were not referred for additional support (antenatal: adjOR = 0.26, 95%CI: 0.15-0.45; postnatal: adjOR = 0.14, 95%CI: 0.07-0.27). However, considerable levels of consultation with general practitioners, midwives and child health nurses, even in the absence of referral, were evident. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that enquiry by a health professional about women's past or current mental health is associated with help-seeking throughout the perinatal period. The clinical and resource implications of these findings for the primary health care sector should be considered prior to the implementation of future routine perinatal depression screening or psychosocial assessment programmes.

While grief, emotional distress and other mental health conditions have been associated with pregnancy loss, less is known about the mental health impact of these events during subsequent pregnancies and births. This paper examined the impact of any type of pregnancy loss on mental health in a subsequent pregnancy and postpartum. Data were obtained from a sub-sample (N = 584) of the 1973-78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, a prospective cohort study that has been collecting data since 1996. Pregnancy loss was defined as miscarriage, termination due to medical reasons, ectopic pregnancy and stillbirth. Mental health outcomes included depression, anxiety, stress or distress, sadness or low mood, excessive worry, lack of enjoyment, and feelings of guilt. Demographic factors and mental health history were controlled for in the analysis. Women with a previous pregnancy loss were more likely to experience sadness or low mood (AOR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.11 to 2.76, p = 0.0162), and excessive worry (AOR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.24 to 3.24, p = 0.0043) during a subsequent pregnancy, but not during the postpartum phase following a subsequent birth. These results indicate that while women who have experienced a pregnancy loss are a more vulnerable population during a subsequent pregnancy, these deficits are not evident in the postpartum.

This report uses data from cohorts born 1973-78, 1946-51 and 1921-26 to explore patterns of mental health among Australian women as well as their use of mental health services. It includes analyses of factors associated with poor mental health as well as specific areas such as perinatal mental health, interpersonal relationships and mental health, and comorbidity of physical and mental health.

Background: Psychosocial assessment and depression screening is now recommended for all women who are pregnant or have recently given birth in Australia. Existing studies which have examined the extent of participation by women in such population-based programs have been primarily concerned with depression screening rather than a more comprehensive examination of psychosocial assessment, and have not been sufficiently inclusive of the 30% of women whose maternity care is provided in the private sector. Whether there are disparities in equity of access to perinatal psychosocial assessment is also unknown. Methods. A sub-sample of women (N = 1804) drawn from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health participated in the study. Overall rates of assessment across five psychosocial domains (current emotional health; mental health history; current level of support; current drug or alcohol use; experience of domestic violence or abuse), as well as receipt of mental health promotion information, were examined. Log binomial regression was performed to investigate whether there were socio-demographic or health system inequalities among women who are and are not assessed across each domain. Results: Two-thirds of women (66.8%) reported being asked about their current emotional health in the antenatal period, increasing to 75.6% of women in the postnatal period. Rates decreased markedly for reported assessment of mental health history (52.9% during pregnancy and 41.2% postnatally). Women were least likely to be asked about their experience of domestic violence or abuse in both the antenatal and postnatal periods (in total, 35.7% and 31.8%, respectively).In terms of equity of access to psychosocial assessment, women who gave birth in the public hospital sector were more likely to report being assessed across all domains of assessment in the antenatal period, compared with women who gave birth in the private sector, after adjusting for other significant covariates. State

OBJECTIVE: To quantify women's uptake of Medicare Benefits Schedule mental health items, compare characteristics of women by mental health service use, and investigate the impact on Medicare costs. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Analysis of linked survey data and Medicare records (November 2006 - December 2007) of 14 911 consenting participants of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) across three birth cohorts (1921-1926 ["older cohort"], 1946-1951 ["mid-age cohort"], and 1973-1978 ["younger cohort"]). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uptake of mental health items; 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) Mental Health Index scores from ALSWH surveys; and patient (out-of-pocket) and benefit (government) costs from Medicare data. RESULTS: A large proportion of women who reported mental health problems made no mental health claims (on the most recent survey, 88%, 90% and 99% of the younger, mid-age and older cohorts, respectively). Socioeconomically disadvantaged women were less likely to use the services. SF-36 Mental Health Index scores among women in the younger and mid-age cohorts were lowest for women who had accessed mental health items or self-reported a recent mental health condition. Mental health items are associated with higher costs to women and government. CONCLUSION: Although there has been rapid uptake of mental health items, uptake by women with mental health needs is low and there is potential socioeconomic inequity.