A simple questionnaire during well-child exams is helping give new mothers and caregivers a chance to seek help for depression and stress in caring for young children.
The 1st Five program recruits primary care providers to improve surveillance and screening for child development, caregiver depression, family stress and autism, said Jen Stout, project coordinator for Polk and Dallas counties. The program then links families in need with community resources.
“Physicians understand the link between the mental health of the caregiver in the social-emotional development of children in the first three to five years. They understand the necessity and need for the screening. They just didn’t have the tools to know where to refer or the time to refer when the questions were asked,” Stout said.
Tags: autism, depression, postpartum, postpartum depression, ppd, pregnancy
