Anxiety and Depression in the Immediate Post-Partum Period: A Controlled Investigation of a Primiparous Sample

Abstract

In a preliminary investigation of the post-partum ‘blues’, a group of 98 primiparous women were assessed before and after birth, using a state depression scale, the state anxiety scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and visual analogue scales for rating anxiety and depression. A matched sample of 96 non-pregnant women was given the same measures, at the same time intervals. Between-group differences were found on the visual analogue scales administered on the days immediately after birth, but not on the other state mood scales. The most sensitive measures of the post-partum blues proved to be the highest and average visual analogue scale of depression scores recorded over the period of hospitalisation.