Utilization of Edinburgh Post Natal Depression Scale (EPDS) as Screening Tool for Predicting Life Events related to Anxiety & Depression during Perinatal Period: An Implication of Preventive Psychiatry

ABSTRACT

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is depression that occurs after having a child. Feelings ofpostpartum depression are more intense and last longer than those of “baby blues,” a term used to describethe worry, sadness, and tiredness many women experience after having a child. This study was undertakenwith the objective to assess the magnitude of risk of Post-Partum Depression in mothers admitted forinstitutional delivery in JK HospitalMethods: It is a cross sectional analytical study. Study was conducted in outpatient department ofPsychiatry of JK Hospital, Kolar, Bhopal which is a tertiary care institution. Study was conducted for 6months amongst the population of mothers who were referred to Psychiatry OPD and who delivered in aweek before period. Convenience sampling method was adopted to conduct the study. The EPDS was themain scale used in the study.Results: Out of 8 variables of study only education level of mothers was found to be insignificant statistically.Rest of the other variables were calculated as statistically significant in our study. Edinburg PostnatalDepression Scale rating was adopted with a cut off of 8, which revealed that about 51.61% of mothers werefalling outside the risk boundary of postpartum depression.Conclusions: The EDPS is useful scale for screening for post natal depression in mothers that have recentlyundergone a delivery though further studies are needed to validate these findings.