Perinatal Mental Health Screening as a Public Health Imperative
Guest: Lynn Ingram McFarland, MBA, PMH-C
Host: Becky Morrison Gleed
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Episode Notes
One year after helping launch Perinatal & Reproductive Perspectives, Lynn Ingram McFarland returns to reflect on what has shifted — and what still hasn’t — in perinatal mental health screening.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Lynn shares updates on her work through Ingram Screening, the launch of a new cross-disorder screening tool, and what she’s learned presenting perinatal mental health data as a public health and economic issue. Together, Becky and Lynn explore why so many parents remain unidentified and untreated, how siloed screening tools miss real suffering, and why human discernment must remain central — even as AI enters the screening landscape.
This episode is both a systems-level examination and a deeply human conversation about visibility, validation, and what ethical screening really requires.
Topics Discussed
Perinatal Mental Health as a Public Health Crisis
Why perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) affect roughly 1 in 5 birthing individuals
How the majority of affected parents remain unidentified and untreated
What data reveals about the broader economic and societal costs of untreated PMADs
Advances in Screening: Beyond Single Tools
The limitations of siloed screening tools like the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)
How cross-tool and cross-disorder insights reveal compounded risk
Why “not scoring positive” does not mean “not suffering”
The IS-20 and Cross-Disorder Screening
Lynn’s development of a new perinatal mental health risk assessment
How combining multiple validated tools can surface patterns missed by individual screens
Using narrative interpretation — not just scores — to guide care conversations
What Traditional Screening Misses
Anger and rage in new parents
Grief, including pregnancy loss and NICU experiences
Fear that does not fit neatly into anxiety or PTSD categories
Why mislabeling leads to misdirected care
NICU Experiences and Unaddressed Trauma
Lynn’s personal experience as a NICU parent
How lack of preparation, explanation, and follow-up screening amplifies trauma
The need for population-specific tools and contextual screening
Human Judgment in the Age of AI
How AI can support efficiency without replacing clinical discernment
The dangers of relying solely on algorithmic scoring
Why data must always be interpreted with human context and compassion
Barriers Inside Healthcare Systems
Why large systems often dismiss or overlook perinatal mental health screening innovation
The role of warm referrals, conferences, and in-person connection in gaining traction
What it means to do this work as a solo founder in a highly specialized niche
Screening as an Ongoing, Longitudinal Process
Why screening must happen throughout pregnancy and well into the postpartum period
The importance of rescreening as trust and safety increase
Integrating mental health screening into routine care, not crisis response
“Parents are making that split second decision: Is this screening tool a safe place for me to be honest? That requires human interaction. You can’t just screen and give a score and move on. That’s clearly not working.”
Guest information
Lynn Ingram McFarland is the founder of Ingram Screening and a nationally recognized advocate for ethical, comprehensive perinatal mental health screening. Drawing on lived experience and years of systems-level work, she consults with clinics, healthcare organizations, and public health entities to improve identification, care pathways, and outcomes for parents and families.