Healing Black Mothers: Whether Pregnant Or Postpartum Get Screened For Depression

If you’re pregnant or have recently given birth, you should be screened for depression, a new U.S. Preventative Task Force recommendation says.

Depression during pregnancy and postpartum is real — even if it isn’t a popular topic in the Black community. It is a dangerous condition that the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says affects between 14-23 percent women at some point in their pregnancy. It may be brought on by many factors such as the stress of the pregnancy itself or even a relapse of past depression, but it often goes undiagnosed and can be mistaken for hormonal imbalance.

READ: Postpartum Depression: What Every Black Mom Needs To Know

Every woman should be screened during this time when depression can affect her child, too. Screening, the recommendation says, reduces depression symptoms in mother and child because it gives the mother time to set up a needed support system.

Tamera Mowry-Housley, host of “The Real,” is one star who has openly shared her history of depression. When the actress had her first child, she says was able to avoid postpartum depression through preparation.