Nurses' and midwives' experiences of managing parental postnatal depression: A scoping review

Abstract

Aim: To describe the current state of the literature on nurses' and midwives' knowledge, perceptions and experiences of managing parental postnatal depression (PPND).

Design: The Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review method and the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews guided the work.

Data sources: A systematic search of PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Scopus databases was conducted in January and February 2023.

Review methods: Peer-reviewed primary research articles published in English between 2012 and 2023 that involved nurses or midwives managing PPND were included. Rayyan was used to screen titles, abstracts and full-text articles. A spreadsheet was used to organize extracted data and synthesize results.

Results: Twenty-nine articles met the inclusion criteria. Most study samples were of mothers, and few were from middle- and lower-income countries. Nurses and midwives lacked knowledge about PPND, yet they felt responsible for its management. Nurses and midwives faced significant organizational and systems-level challenges in managing PPND. However, nurses and midwives facilitated PPND care in collaboration with other healthcare providers.

Conclusion: The review highlights significant gaps in the nurses' and midwives' care of PPND. Educational programmes are necessary to increase nurse and midwife knowledge of PPND and strategies for its management, including facilitating collaboration across the healthcare system and eliminating organizational and systemic-related barriers. Additional focused research is needed on nurses' and midwives' knowledge, perception of and experience with PPND beyond mothers, such as with fathers, sexually and gender-minoritized parents and surrogate mothers. Finally, additional research is needed in middle- and lower-income countries where nurses and midwives may face a higher burden of and unique cultural considerations in managing PPND.

Impact: PPND can affect the parent's mental and physical health and relationship with their child. If left untreated, PPND can lead to long-term consequences, including child developmental delays, behavioural problems and difficulties with parental-child attachment.

Reporting method: This scoping review adheres to PRISMA Extension for Scoping Review guidelines and the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review method.

Patient or public contribution: This research is a scoping review of published peer-reviewed studies.

Keywords: depression; midwife; nurse; parents; postnatal.