Postpartum Depression Scale

What Is the Postpartum Depression Scale?

Before we get to answering our postpartum depression scale question, let’s look into postpartum depression also known as PPD a bit closer. PPD is often confused with baby blues. While all around us are celebrating the arrival of the new addition in the family, the mother goes through this confusing phase where she is happy for the birth of the baby yet feels an intense sadness inside.

Baby blues can set in around 24 hours post childbirth and possible symptoms are feeling upset, sad and empty. Crying spells, lack of sleep, disturbed sleep and being overly emotional all categorize baby blues.

Baby blues normally peak around 3 to 5 days post childbirth and can last from anywhere between ten days to two weeks.

Postpartum depression has a much longer shelf life lasting almost up to six months to a year.

They are also much more intense in nature. While baby blues are common and do not interfere with the mothers daily life and her capability to care for the baby, postpartum depression can cripple her efforts to go about a normal day.

This depression leaves a woman physically and emotionally fatigued.

Some of the symptoms to watch out for that signal postpartum depression are listed below:

Extreme emotional fluctuations and mood swings
Inability to sleep
Inability to enjoy the baby
Inability to take pleasure in the things that you previously enjoyed
Extreme fatigue
Appetite fluctuations
Feelings of inadequacy as a parent and a spouse
Have negative thoughts about the baby and yourself
Feel suicidal or think of harming the baby

Sometimes postpartum depression can be so severe that it can translate into postpartum psychosis where a new mother might become delusional, start hallucinating or become severely depressed.

The postpartum depression scale has been developed at health centers located in Edinburgh and Livingston. Also known as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, this postpartum depression scale helps in detecting postpartum depression in mothers.

Edinburgh

If your health care provider suspects that you are suffering from PPD, you will be asked a series of questions such as the intensity of depression, the duration of each depressive bout, any previous history of depression, substance abuse, marital problems or discord or any other form of stress to get to a conclusion.

You will also be required to take the postpartum depression scale test.

The PPD scale test is a questionnaire that consists of ten statements with four answers. The mother taking this test is asked to identify the answer that she feels describes her feelings in the past week the closest. Mothers whose scores rank higher than 92% in this test are likely to be severely depressed.

This test should ideally be taken 6 to 8 weeks post delivery and should be completed by the mother herself without discussing the answers with anyone.

Along the lines of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale test, another test that has been developed is the PPD Screening Scale Test.

Click To Watch Video As Severe PPD & Anxiety Sufferer Reveals How She Cured Herself Naturally

This postpartum depression scale test consists of 35 items that need to be graded on a scale ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”.

However, a physician should be consulted after taking the test so that a clinical decision and program to decide the course of treatment can be taken and applied.

Postpartum Depression Scale

What Is the Postpartum Depression Scale?

This depression leaves a woman physically and emotionally fatigued.

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