An overview of health economic aspects of perinatal depression

This chapter provides an overview of health economic aspects of perinatal depression, beginning with an overview of health economic methods. The chapter summarizes current published evidence on economic costs associated with perinatal depression. Studies in this area have focussed on the postnatal period, with no published studies on the economic consequences of depression during pregnancy and the intrapartum period. Moreover, studies of economic costs of depression during the postnatal period have been limited in perspective, either focusing on those borne by the health system or by health and social care providers, and also limited in time horizon. The chapter then summarizes published evidence surrounding economic evaluations of prevention, identification and treatment strategies for perinatal depression, highlighting gaps in current knowledge. The chapter concludes with directions for future research in this area.