The EPDS has been developed to assist primary care health professionals to detect mothers suffering from postnatal depression; a distressing disorder more prolonged than the ‘blues’ (which occur in the first week after delivery) but less severe than puerperal psychosis.
The EPDS was developed at health centres in Livingston and Edinburgh. It consists of ten short statements. The mother selects which of the four possible responses is closest to how she has been feeling during the past week. Most mothers complete the scale without difficulty in less than 5 minutes.