Postpartum depression screening and the six-week visit
Two questions and you answer only one — but you must say which in your post title. Each has precise deliverables, and the second one requires actual ICD-10 and V codes rather than a description of the visit.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 15, 2026
Choose one question, and say which one you chose
Read the instruction before the questions: select one of the two, and put the question number in the title of your post. Answering both dilutes a 250 to 300 word response and failing to label it loses marks that have nothing to do with clinical content, which is the most avoidable way to lose them. Question one asks you to review a national guideline for postpartum depression assessment, say when screening is recommended and what the clinical indicators are, and list two findings that would indicate the need for further assessment or referral. Note the word national — a guideline from a recognised body rather than your employer's protocol — and note that current guidance places screening across the perinatal period rather than at a single postpartum visit, which is the update most posts miss because they are working from an older textbook chapter rather than the current guideline itself.
The two findings requiring referral should be chosen deliberately rather than picked from a symptom list. A screening score above the instrument's threshold is one, but the more important is any positive response on the self-harm item, which requires immediate assessment regardless of the total score — that distinction shows you understand how the instrument works rather than only what it contains. Question two is a different kind of task: it asks for the six-week visit's assessment domains and anticipatory guidance, and then explicitly for the ICD-10 and V codes reflecting the components of that visit. Supply real codes. A post that describes the visit beautifully and omits the codes has skipped a named requirement, and the coding element is precisely what makes this an advanced practice question rather than a general one about postpartum care. Coding accurately is part of the clinical competence being assessed, not an administrative afterthought.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Locate and apply a national clinical guideline rather than a local protocol.
- 02Distinguish a threshold score from an item-level finding requiring immediate action.
- 03Assign accurate diagnostic and visit codes to the components of a postpartum examination.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
Important information for writing discussion questions and participationHi Class, Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts. Contact me if you have any questions. Important information on Writing a Discussion Question Discussion Assessment of post postpartum depression Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references) There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article. Include in-text citations in your response Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information Follow APA-7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week. Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references) Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count. Follow APA 7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points. Here are some helpful links Student paper example Citing Sources The Writing Center is a great resource Welcome to class Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to. I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you. Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted. If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations. Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements. Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week. I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01An initial post of 250-300 words answering one question only.
- 02The question number in the post title, as instructed.
- 03Either two referral-triggering findings or a set of real ICD-10 and V codes.
- 04At least one scholarly citation in APA format.
Guideline first, then indicators, then the referral triggers
Name the guideline
Identify the national guideline you reviewed and its scope across the perinatal period.
When screening is recommended
State the recommended timing and the clinical indicators the guideline names.
Two findings requiring referral
Give a threshold finding and an item-level finding requiring immediate assessment.
Alternatively: the six-week visit
Set out the assessment domains and anticipatory guidance for the visit.
Alternatively: the codes
Supply the ICD-10 and V codes reflecting the visit's components.
National guidelines and the coding references
Recommended databases
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- US Preventive Services Task Force
- CDC reproductive health
- ICD-10-CM official guidelines
- CINAHL
Search sequence
- 1.Start with the ACOG clinical practice guideline, which is the national guidance this question is pointing at.
- 2.Check the USPSTF recommendation as a second national source, since the two are complementary.
- 3.For question two, use the official ICD-10-CM guidelines rather than a coding cheat sheet.
- 4.Verify that any guideline you cite is the current version; perinatal mental health guidance was substantially revised recently.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.
- 01
Screening and Diagnosis of Mental Health Conditions During Pregnancy and Postpartum
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists · 2023
The national guideline the prompt asks you to review, stating when screening is recommended and what the clinical indicators are.
- 02
About CAHPS
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality · 2024
A model of how a standardised instrument is designed, validated and reported, which is what turns a screening intention into a measurable process.
- 03
About Adverse Childhood Experiences
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · 2024
Population evidence for why untreated maternal mental illness matters beyond the mother, supporting the case for systematic screening.
- 04
Hypothesis Testing, P Values, Confidence Intervals, and Significance
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Reference for reading a screening instrument's threshold correctly, including what a cut-off does and does not establish.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Answering both questions and diluting a short word budget.
- Omitting the question number from the title, which the brief requires explicitly.
- Citing an employer protocol where a national guideline was asked for.
- Describing the six-week visit without supplying the codes the question names.
Submission checklist
- Does your post title carry the question number?
- Have you answered one question rather than both?
- If question one, do your two findings include an item-level trigger and not just a score?
- If question two, have you supplied actual codes rather than descriptions?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Aaron Bishop
MA, Education
assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines
Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.
Reviewed by
Dr. Nathan Cole
PhD, Rhetoric & Composition
Argumentation and thesis development
Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.