--- title: "Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)" url: "https://www.ellomind.com/ai-tools-for-psychologists/tests/edinburgh-postnatal-depression-scale/" description: "The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) screens for depression in pregnancy and after birth. What a result means, for families and clinicians in India." --- Depression (perinatal) # Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) Self-report screening questionnaire ยท Adults, pregnant and postnatal parents The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a short questionnaire used to screen for depression during pregnancy and after a baby is born. This page explains what it screens for, what a result does and does not mean, and what happens next, whether you have been asked to fill one in, or you use it in your work. [Try the Case formulation (5Ps and CBT) tool](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/case-formulation/) [All tests](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/tests/) **Educational overview only.** The EPDS was developed by Cox, Holden and Sagovsky and is widely used in clinical practice with acknowledgement of the authors and source. This page is an educational overview and does not reproduce the items; clinicians should use the official version with its own scoring guidance. ## What it is The EPDS is a ten-item self-report questionnaire developed by John Cox, Jeni Holden and Ruth Sagovsky in Edinburgh in 1987, to help identify parents who may be experiencing depression around the time of birth. The person answers a small set of questions about how they have felt in the past week, and the answers add up to a total score. It is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. Its job is to flag who might benefit from a fuller conversation with a professional, so that support reaches people who would otherwise go unnoticed. One of its items asks about thoughts of self-harm, and that item is always followed up on its own, whatever the overall score. ## What it covers | Items | Ten short questions | | ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Recall period | How the person has felt over the past seven days | | Who completes it | The parent, on their own | | Self-harm item | One item asks about thoughts of self-harm and is always followed up, whatever the total | | What it produces | A total score that a qualified professional interprets alongside a conversation | [**This test was given to me or my child** What happens, what the report means, and where to get assessed](#families) [**I administer this test** Administration context, use in India, citation and related tools](#for-clinicians) ## If this test was given to you or your child If you have been asked to fill in the EPDS at an antenatal or postnatal visit, it is a short set of questions about how you have been feeling over the past week. There are no right answers, and it is not a test of whether you are a good parent. Answer it as honestly as you can, because it helps the people looking after you see how you are really doing rather than how you feel you should be doing. If the question about self-harm worries you, that is exactly what it is there for, and it opens a conversation rather than a judgement. Feeling low, tearful or anxious around a new baby is common and treatable, and it is not a measure of how much you love your child. These feelings pass with the right support, and asking for help is part of looking after your baby, not a failure at it. ## Reading the results The EPDS gives a total score, and a higher score suggests you may be experiencing more of the feelings that can come with depression around this time. Because it is a screen, that score points to who might benefit from a fuller conversation; it is not a diagnosis and it is not a verdict. A raised score is a reason to talk to a professional, who can look at the whole picture with you. It reflects one week, and how you feel can change, especially once support is in place. If your score was low but you still feel unwell, that matters too, and it is worth saying so. ## What it cannot tell you It cannot diagnose depression on its own, and it does not measure how much you love your baby or how capable a parent you are. Those things are not what it looks at. A low score does not rule everything out. Exhaustion, a difficult birth, physical recovery, pain and broken sleep all shape how someone answers, and a person can be struggling in ways a short questionnaire does not catch. It is a starting point for a conversation, not the last word, which is why it is always read by a person and not left to the number alone. ## Who can administer it in India The EPDS is freely available and simple to fill in, but it is meant to be used within care, by someone who can talk the answers through and arrange follow-up, a doctor, nurse, midwife, health visitor or mental-health professional working in maternity or postnatal care. The scoring is straightforward; the skill is in the conversation that follows and in acting on the self-harm item safely. Used on its own with no one to turn to, a questionnaire cannot do the part that actually helps. ## Where to get assessed In India, EPDS screening happens in the maternal and child health services of government hospitals and medical colleges, in some primary health centres, and in private obstetric and psychology practice. If you are pregnant or have recently had a baby and have been feeling low or anxious, you do not have to wait to be offered it. You can raise it with your obstetrician, your baby's paediatrician, or a mental-health professional, and ask how you are being supported. If you ever feel unsafe or have thoughts of harming yourself, contact a mental-health professional or a helpline straight away, help is available and the feeling does pass. ## Who it is for It is used with people during pregnancy and in the months after a baby arrives. Many services offer it to mothers at routine antenatal and postnatal visits, and a growing number also screen fathers and partners, who can experience perinatal depression too. It is a screen for low mood and related feelings, not a test of how good a parent someone is, and it is designed to be quick enough to fit into an ordinary check-up. For clinicians ## How it is administered The parent completes it themselves, on paper or on a screen, usually during a routine visit, and it takes only a few minutes. A professional then works out the total and, more importantly, talks the answers through. A raised score is a reason for a fuller assessment, not a conclusion. The professional reads the score alongside how the person is doing, their history and what they say in the conversation, and always checks the self-harm item regardless of the total. ## Use in India In India the EPDS is used in the maternal and child health services of government hospitals and medical colleges, in some primary health centres, and in private obstetric and mental-health practice. It has been translated and validated in several Indian languages, which matters because a screen only works when it is answered in a language the person is comfortable in. It fits the wider effort to bring perinatal mental health into routine maternity care. ## Related free tools [Formulation Case formulation (5Ps and CBT)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/case-formulation/) [Client materials Psychoeducation handout](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/psychoeducation-handout/) ## Citation and sources Cox, J.L., Holden, J.M., & Sagovsky, R. (1987). Detection of postnatal depression: development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 782โ€“786. * [Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh%5FPostnatal%5FDepression%5FScale) โ€” Wikipedia * [Cox, Holden & Sagovsky (1987), original paper](https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.150.6.782) โ€” British Journal of Psychiatry ## Frequently asked questions What is the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale? + A ten-item self-report questionnaire, developed by Cox, Holden and Sagovsky in 1987, used to screen for depression during pregnancy and after birth. It flags who may need a fuller assessment and is not itself a diagnosis. Is the EPDS a diagnosis of postnatal depression? + No. It is a screening tool. A raised score means a professional should assess further, taking in the person's history and a conversation. The diagnosis is made by a clinician, not by the questionnaire. How many questions are on the EPDS? + Ten. Each asks how the person has felt over the past seven days, and the answers combine into a total score that a professional interprets. Is the EPDS used in India? + Yes, in the maternal and child health services of government hospitals and medical colleges, in some primary health centres, and in private practice. It has been translated and validated in several Indian languages. Can fathers or partners fill in the EPDS? + Yes. Perinatal depression affects fathers and partners too, and many services now screen them as well as mothers, since support for both parents matters for the family and the baby. What happens if my EPDS score is high? + It means a professional should look more closely with you, not that a diagnosis is confirmed. Depression around pregnancy and birth is common and treatable, and a raised score is the start of getting support rather than a label. Does the EPDS ask about self-harm? + Yes, one item asks about thoughts of self-harm, and it is always followed up on its own regardless of the total score. If you ever feel unsafe, contact a mental-health professional or a helpline straight away; help is available and the feeling does pass. Can I take the EPDS online by myself? + Versions are widely available, but the EPDS is meant to be used within care, where someone can talk the answers through and arrange follow-up. If you are feeling low or anxious, it is better to complete it with a professional than to rely on a score alone. What is the difference between the EPDS and the Beck Depression Inventory? + The EPDS is a short screen designed specifically for the time around pregnancy and birth, and it deliberately avoids physical symptoms that overlap with normal recovery. The Beck Depression Inventory measures the severity of depression symptoms in general and is not specific to the perinatal period. ## More tests and assessments [Depression Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/tests/beck-depression-inventory/) [Anxiety Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/tests/beck-anxiety-inventory/) [Diagnostic interview Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/tests/scid/) This page is general educational information for professionals, not clinical or legal advice, and not a substitute for training in the instrument. ElloMind does not provide, sell or reproduce copyrighted test materials. [Back to all tests](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/tests/)