Normalizing Mental Health: A Vital Sign in Prenatal and Postpartum Care

In part 2 of our interview series, Joy Baker, MD, offers a practical and compassionate approach to reducing stigma around postpartum depression (PPD): normalize it. In an interview with Patient Care at the 2025 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting, Dr Baker describes how, in her own practice, mental health screening is treated like any other clinical vital sign. “Just like we’re taking your blood pressure,” she explains, “we’re checking to see if you’re having any mental health challenges.”

This method—screening at the first prenatal visit, again in the third trimester, before hospital discharge, and during the postpartum visit—sends a powerful message: PPD isn’t rare or shameful, and it deserves clinical attention. Dr Baker emphasizes that positioning mental health as part of standard prenatal and postpartum care helps patients feel safer and more supported in disclosing symptoms.

For primary care clinicians, this segment underscores how routine screening and reframing can help normalize mental health care, empower patients, and make PPD detection more effective. The goal is to shift the conversation from “what’s wrong?” to “what’s expected and how can we help?”