[Creation of an observation scale for newborns in the maternity setting]. / Élaboration d'une échelle d'observation des nouveau-nés en maternité.

In clinical practice in the maternity setting, professionals are regularly confronted with situations for which a clinical observation of the newborn's condition is necessary. The Assessment for Newborn Development and Abilities (Panda) scale is a tool for evaluating the sensory-motor skills of newborns and their relationship with others, as well as raising professionals' awareness of their fine observation.

Pregnancy, somatic complaints and depression: a French population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: Depression during pregnancy is today one of the greatest medical risks for expectant mothers and newborns. It is associated with numerous morbid conditions and with postnatal depression. Identifying depression during pregnancy is therefore a major public health concern, but screening for depression is not routinely carried out in somatic settings. We hypothesized that the presence of numerous somatic complaints contributes to the detection of an increased risk of depression during pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1000 consecutive pregnant women approached during OB/GYN visits at a general maternity hospital. They were asked to fill out a questionnaire, which contained the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and a checklist of 18 somatic complaints. RESULTS: The median number of somatic complaints was 5 (interquartile range 3-7). The risk of depression during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters was 18.3% (EPDS score > 10.5). Logistic regression revealed that when the somatic complaints total score moved from 3 to 7, the odds of moving from not-at-risk to at-risk for antenatal depression were multiplied by 2.91. CONCLUSION: Our results call for further research exploring somatic complaints and their link to depression during pregnancy. Until more knowledge is available, we suggest considering that women with a high number of somatic complaints during pregnancy are at high risk for depression and should be referred for further diagnostic clinical assessment and care.

[Mental illness and pregnancy]. / Pathologie psychiatrique et grossesse.

Pregnancy was once thought a period of bliss devoid of mental illness. We now know this is not so. It is well documented that pregnancy and the peripartum are not only a time when preexisting mental illness will persist but that it is also a high-risk period for renewed episodes of mental illness, whether de novo or relapse. In this paper, we will describe the three main axis of management of maternal mental illness during the peripartum: maternal psychiatric illness, fetal, neonatal and infant development and future mother-infant relationship. We will give an overview of how to organize care for mothers with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Good practice management of psychotropic medication during this period will be described. Finally the importance of networking and multidisciplinary management of these situations will be underlined.