The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will soon begin research on the 'Effect of mental health disorder and substance use on maternal and child health'.  

The broad areas of the study include socio behavioural and mental health consequences of drug use/abuse among women of reproductive age group (15-49); socio behavioural and mental health consequences of alcohol use/abuse among women of reproductive age group (15-49); effect of post natal depression (PND) among young mothers; HIV/AIDS and common mental disorder (CMD) among women; effect of substance/alcohol use/abuse on foetal growth; and gynaecological morbidity and psychological disorder.

Senior scientists at the ICMR said that the majority of post natal depressions (PNDs) are self-limiting though, if untreated, this process of resolution may take up to 6 to 12 months. There is a "compelling body of evidence implicating PND in a range of adverse child cognitive and emotional outcomes". The detection of PND is of great public health interest not only because of its profound impact on maternal and child health but also due to the abundant evidence that simple inexpensive interventions such as non-directive counselling are of significant benefit in terms of remission of PND.

Likewise, the effect of caring for terminally ill persons on the mental health of care givers is now recognized as an important cause of common mental disorder (CMD).  There are reports that women, who are often care givers for persons with HIV/AIDS, suffer considerable mental and physical health problems as a result of care-giving and that depression, in particular, is common.

About the gynaecological morbidity and psychological disorder, officials said that the gynaecological symptoms, for example vaginal discharge, are among the most commonly cited health problems in women in developing countries. Although much earlier research assumed this symptom to be indicative of reproductive tract infections, recent studies (particularly from South Asia) show considerable discordance between symptoms and actual disease. Depression typically presents in the form of medically unexplained physical symptoms. Rates of depression are high in women attending gynaecological clinics and qualitative studies demonstrate a strong relationship between vaginal discharge, weakness, psychosomatic symptoms and psychosocial stress.

Part of the etiology of ‘medically unexplained’ vaginal discharge may be that it is a somatic idiom for depression and psychosocial distress.