Tool identifies mothers at high risk for postpartum depression

A machine learning tool can help identify women at high risk for postpartum depression before they leave the hospital, research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found. Identifying at-risk patients sooner can enable them to start treatment before symptoms become severe. The study consisted of 29,168 women with available scores from the common scale used to screen for depression and with no recent history of depression who gave birth at one of eight hospitals using a common electronic medical record. The researchers used the EMR to determine maternal medical history, medication use, pregnancy history and demographic factors. The model identified about 30% of individuals who were predicted to be at high risk for postpartum depression ─ three times the population rate of 10%. (MedScape article, 5/21/25)