Postpartum Depression Screener (EPDS)

The EPDS is a 10-question screening scale developed by Cox, Holden, and Sagovsky and published in the British Journal of Psychiatry in 1987. Each question asks how you've felt over the past 7 days and is scored 0 to 3, for a total of 0 to 30 — higher totals mean more symptoms. It's the most widely used screen for depression during pregnancy and after birth, recommended in guidance from bodies like ACOG, and it deliberately focuses on feelings rather than physical symptoms like tiredness, which overlap with normal new-parent life. It flags who should talk with a clinician; it cannot diagnose anyone by itself.

Using the published cut-offs: a total below 10 means depression is less likely right now; 10 to 12 means possible depression — worth re-screening in 2 to 4 weeks and mentioning to your provider; and 13 or higher means depression is likely, so contact your provider promptly. Separately, any answer other than 'Never' on question 10 — thoughts of self-harm — deserves immediate attention regardless of your total, which is why this tool shows crisis resources the moment that question is answered. A score is a starting point for a conversation, never a diagnosis: only a clinician can make that call after talking with you.

Yes to both. The EPDS was built for the postnatal period but is validated and routinely used during pregnancy too — perinatal depression can start before the baby arrives, and ACOG recommends screening at prenatal visits as well as postpartum ones. Partners and fathers can also develop depression around a birth, and the EPDS is commonly used to screen them as well. Whoever is answering, the same rule applies: answer about the past 7 days, be honest rather than brave, and treat the result as a prompt to talk with a clinician, not a verdict.

The baby blues are very common in the first days after birth — weepiness, mood swings, feeling overwhelmed — and they typically peak within the first week and settle on their own by about two weeks, without treatment. Postpartum depression is different: the low mood, anxiety, guilt, or loss of interest is more intense, lasts beyond those first two weeks (or starts later in the first year, or during pregnancy), and gets in the way of daily life and caring for yourself or your baby. If symptoms persist past two weeks, worsen, or ever include thoughts of self-harm, that's the point to screen and talk with your provider — depression around pregnancy is common and very treatable.

Postpartum psychosis is a rare but serious emergency that usually begins suddenly in the first days to two weeks after birth. Red flags include hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren't there), beliefs that aren't true, feeling confused or paranoid, racing thoughts, severe agitation or being unable to sleep for days, and thoughts of harming your baby. This is not something a screening quiz measures and not something to wait out: call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room right away, and don't leave the person alone. With urgent treatment, people recover — the danger is in delay, not in asking for help.

Yes. This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are scored on your own device and are never sent to a server, saved, or shared — close the tab and they're gone. In a post-Dobbs world we treat reproductive and mental-health data as sensitive by default. It's general educational information based on a published, validated screening scale; it can't diagnose you or replace a conversation with a clinician.