BACKGROUND AND METHODS Depression following childbirth is an illness occurring in 10 to 20 percent of women in the year postpartum. Researchers have debated whether postpartum depression is a different illness from depression at other times. We critically review the literature on postpartum depression, as distinguished from postpartum blues and psychosis. RESULTS Problems with definition, stu...

OBJECTIVE This study evaluates the capacity of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) implemented in the first days postpartum to detect women who will suffer from postnatal depression. METHOD A sample of 1154 women completed the EPDS at 2 to 3 days postpartum and again at 4 to 6 weeks postpartum. RESULTS There was a highly significant positive correlation between EPDS scores on bo...

Cesarean delivery rates continue to increase, and surgery is associated with chronic pain, often co-existing with depression. Also, acute pain in the days after surgery is a strong predictor of chronic pain. Here we tested if mode of delivery or acute pain played a role in persistent pain and depression after childbirth. In this multicenter, prospective, longitudinal cohort study, 1288 women ho...

The aims of the study were (1) to establish the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) in the community sample, (2) to determine the stability and (3) the longitudinal pattern of elevated depression from pregnancy to postpartum. A sample of 272 women filled out the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) on three occasions: in the third trimester of pregnancy at the prenatal clinic, 2 da...

BACKGROUND The relation between place of residence and risk of postpartum depression is uncertain. We evaluated the relation between place of residence and risk of postpartum depression in a population-based sample of Canadian women. METHODS Female postpartum respondents to the 2006 Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey (n=6126) were classified as living in rural (<1000 inhabitants or populat...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of postnatal depression in Nuuk, Greenland. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. METHODS The primary health care system in Nuuk initiated a project aiming to screen new mothers for depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). EPDS has a range on a scale from 0 to 30. All mothers residing in Nuuk who had given ...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) for the Turkish population. METHOD The research was conducted in the province of Ankara between 15 June 2003 and 15 February 2004. The study sample included 445 women in their 2nd-13th postpartum week. Data were collected with a sociodemographic form, PDSS, Beck De...