This discussion focuses upon mild to moderate maternal depression which often follows parturition. Nurse practitioners are in a unique position to detect depression in new mothers: a PNP, for example, performing an exam on the new infant or an Ob/Gyn NP assessing a mother's postnatal progress. The following remarks are intended to alert the nurse who has contact with new mothers to the possibility of depression. The mother suspected of being depressed should be offered comprehensive assessment and management or referral to another health practitioner.