Joy Baker, MD: Understanding Patient Language in PPD Screening
ACOG 2025: Dr Baker shares how language can help create a trusting space for patients to speak openly about postpartum depression.
Words matter—and in part 4 of our interview with Joy Baker, MD, at the 2025 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting, she discussed how the language clinicians use can either invite or inhibit disclosure of postpartum depression (PPD) symptoms. She describes a simple but effective script she shares with patients: “PPD happens in many people, and it’s important that we talk about it. I screen everyone.”
By consistently delivering this message across prenatal and postpartum visits, Dr Baker helps patients internalize that PPD is common, nonjudgmental, and treatable. Reframing the screening as routine—not reactive—removes stigma and creates psychological safety.
Primary care physicians can apply this language in their own practices to encourage open communication. When patients know from the outset that mental health is part of their care, they are more likely to speak up before symptoms worsen. This segment highlights how a shift in tone and framing can lay the foundation for timely, effective intervention.
