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Clinical instrument

Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)

A 10-item self-report screen for perinatal depression covering the past 7 days. Several items are reverse-scored; the per-item response options below already reflect the correct scoring. Any positive response to item 10 (self-harm) requires immediate clinical attention regardless of the total. Administer under clinician oversight.

This is a clinical instrument. It is not publicly self-administered; a clinician assigns it through a secure patient link.

You learn whether your recent mood suggests postnatal or prenatal depression worth discussing with someone.

For new and expecting parents who want to check in on their mood.

It comes from perinatal mental health research on recognizing depression during pregnancy and after birth.

Example score on the scale rangeChart drawn with invented example scores; not a real result.Example dataLower rangeMiddle rangeHigher rangePerinatal depressive symptoms
Sample result, example data. Illustrative chart with invented scores; it does not describe any real respondent.
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) box

What this test is

Welcome. A 10-item self-report screen for perinatal depression covering the past 7 days. Several items are reverse-scored; the per-item response options below already reflect the correct scoring. Any positive response to item 10 (self-harm) requires immediate clinical attention regardless of the total. Administer under clinician oversight.

The measure

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was developed by Cox and colleagues (1987). It has 10 items, each answered on a 4-point (0 … 3) scale.

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(6), 782–786.

At a glance

Items
10
Response scale
4-point (0 … 3)
Est. time
~1 min
Access
Assigned only · no per-report charge

What it measures

Ten statements ask how a person has felt over the past seven days: able to laugh and see the funny side of things, looking forward to things, blaming oneself unnecessarily, anxious or worried for no good reason, scared or panicky, overwhelmed, so unhappy that sleeping has been difficult, sad or miserable, so unhappy that one has been crying, and having had thoughts of self-harm. The items deliberately leave out tiredness, sleep loss and appetite change, which are common after a birth whether or not a mother is depressed.

Cox, Holden and Sagovsky (1987) developed the scale in Edinburgh and Livingston health centres because existing depression measures relied heavily on bodily symptoms that could not distinguish depression from the ordinary demands of a new baby. The scale has since been translated widely and is used during pregnancy as well as after childbirth.

The ten ratings are summed into a total. Lower totals indicate that mood has been largely untroubled over the past week; higher totals indicate more frequent low mood, anxiety and self-blame. The report places the total within the published screening ranges. Any endorsement of the self-harm item deserves prompt attention whatever the total, and a high score is a reason for a clinical conversation rather than a diagnosis.

The scale is used in maternity, health visiting and primary care services, and in research on perinatal mental health. On this site, the PHQ-9 measures depressive symptoms outside the perinatal period, the GAD-7 focuses on anxiety, and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index offers a brief positively worded check on well-being.

Nomological network

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was written to detect depression after childbirth without relying on physical symptoms such as tiredness or sleep change that are common in new parents, and its scores converge with psychiatric interview diagnoses of postnatal depression (Cox et al., 1987).

A subset of its items forms an anxiety factor that relates to anxiety disorders, so the scale overlaps with perinatal anxiety as well as depression (Matthey, 2008). Its avoidance of bodily symptoms separates it from general depression questionnaires that count those symptoms (Cox et al., 1987).

Validity evidence

At the published cutoff sensitivity ranges about 0.80-0.86 and specificity about 0.78-0.84 for perinatal depression (Cox et al., 1987; Gibson et al., 2009).

Example item

“I have been able to laugh and see the funny side of things”

As much as I always couldNot quite so much nowDefinitely not so much nowNot at all

Illustrative only. During administration items are presented one screen-set at a time; response-key direction is never shown to respondents.

Scoring & interpretation

Item responses are summed to a total score and compared against published screening cutoffs.

The report explains which published screening bands your score falls in and what they mean.

References

  1. 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(6), 782–786.
  2. Matthey, S. (2008). Using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale to screen for anxiety disorders. Depression and Anxiety, 25(11), 926–931.
  3. Gibson, J., McKenzie-McHarg, K., Shakespeare, J., Price, J., & Gray, R. (2009). A systematic review of studies validating the EPDS in antepartum and postpartum women. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 119(5), 350-364.

Sample report preview

The report shows your total score and where it falls across the range of possible scores, followed by a plain-language explanation of what scores in that region describe. Where the instrument has published interpretive bands, the report names the band and what it means. It closes with notes on how to read the result and on when a conversation with a qualified professional may be useful.

Report contents
SectionWhat it shows
ScoreYour scale score, computed with the published scoring key.
Score bandsWhere your score falls among the published bands listed on this page.

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