A new Google Search tool to support women with postpartum depression

Motherhood brings about a whirlwind of feelings, emotions and experiences. It's a time of celebration, love, exhaustion and healing, and it's common for many women to feel overwhelmed by such an adjustment. However, for some new mothers it might feel more extreme and be associated with deeper or longer-lasting negative feelings – sadness, panic, anxiety or loneliness. These feelings, among others, go beyond what’s known as the baby blues and may indicate postpartum depression (PPD). PPD is a condition that impacts one in nine women according to the Office on Women’s Health, making it one of the most common postpartum complications. 

In my career as psychiatrist, I treated women at the most extreme end of the spectrum. However, women with less overt symptoms might end up suffering in silence. For a variety of reasons, ranging from the perceived stigma to a lack of understanding about it, postpartum depression remains under-identified, under-diagnosed and under-treated. “More than half of the women with PPD go undetected and undiagnosed because the new mother may be unwilling to reveal how she is feeling to her provider or close family members, including her spouse,” notes a study published in The Journal of Perinatal Education. A separate study also found that only 1 in 11 women received a screening for depression during their postpartum care follow-up visit.

 To prevent mental health issues from further slipping through the cracks, we recognize that technology, and Google specifically, can play a role in helping more women (and their partners) understand this condition and get support. Now, when they go to Google searching for information on postpartum depression and related terms, they’ll have instant access to a self-assessment that uses clinically validated questions, already in use by health care professionals. This screening tool can help prepare new mothers to have more productive and robust conversations with their doctors about their symptoms. For even more information, in collaboration with NAMI and OWH, the tool also provides access to resources so mothers can learn more about postpartum depression and seek help if necessary.

 This new tool joins three other mental health self-assessments currently available that help people when they search on Google for information. These tools can help assess their risk for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. Useful in any scenario, these tools are all the more crucial amid a health pandemic and the holiday season, both of which can exacerbate symptoms and barriers to care. Like our other self-assessment tools, users’ results remain safe, secure and confidential - Google does not have access to, collect or share answers or results from the questions.   

 We don’t know specifically what causes individual cases of postpartum depression, other than some combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors – not to mention possible infant-related factors that run the gamut from anxious temperaments to colic to more severe health problems.

 What we do know is this: the isolation many mothers may feel, even under the best of circumstances, is likely to be exacerbated by the physical isolation from loved ones during the pandemic. As a society, we need to do more to support and help them in any way we can. As healthcare providers, we might only be able to reach so many women, but it’s amazing to think a tool like this one can potentially help millions assess their symptoms and get access to resources.