Postnatal mood (EPDS)
Mood and emotional strain after childbirth. Answer the app’s questionnaire and see your result right away.
Source · Cox JL, Holden JM, Sagovsky R. Detection of postnatal depression: development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Br J Psychiatry. 1987;150(6):782–786. CareOps English translation of its existing Korean questionnaire. Wording, response choices and descriptive score ranges follow the CareOps version and have not been independently validated in English.
EPDS postnatal mood check: looking at the whole week
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a 10-question scale developed by Cox, Holden and Sagovsky in 1987 to detect postnatal depression. It asks whether you could laugh, looked forward to things, blamed yourself when things went wrong, felt anxious or scared for no good reason, felt things getting on top of you, and were so unhappy you had trouble sleeping or cried. Answer for the whole of the past seven days, not just today. This English page translates the CareOps Korean questionnaire and has not been independently validated in English.
Reading your results
Each question scores 0–3 for a total of 0–30. The result screen shows 0–8 as lower symptom burden, 9–12 as borderline to mild and 13–30 as higher symptom burden. After birth, lack of sleep and physical recovery add up, so look at which questions are high, not only the total. A diagnosis is made in a clinical conversation. A score of 13 or more, or enjoyment not returning for over two weeks, is a reason to talk with your midwife, doctor or a mental health professional. Question 10 asks about thoughts of harming yourself; if you answer yes to it, support information appears before your result.
A question to reflect on
Write down one moment this week when you laughed, even briefly, and one moment you felt most overwhelmed. Add a line about who could have helped with what in that moment. It makes asking for specific help easier.
Frequently asked questions
- How many questions are in Postnatal mood (EPDS), and how long does it take?
- There are 10 questions, and it usually takes about 2 minutes. Each question has its own set of choices; pick the one closest to you. There are no right or wrong answers.
- Can I take it during pregnancy?
- Yes. The EPDS was created for the postnatal period, and this page offers it for reflecting on mood around pregnancy and birth. Answer for the whole past week.
- I cry a lot since giving birth. Is that postnatal depression?
- Big mood swings in the first days after birth are common. If tears come with enjoyment not returning, or feeling overwhelmed lasts more than two weeks, talk with a professional whatever your score.
- Can a partner or family member take it?
- They can, but the questions center on the experience of the person who gave birth. For a partner, a general mood check such as the PHQ-9 may fit better.
- Do I need to sign in? Are my answers saved?
- You can see your results right away without signing in. Your answers are used only for scoring and are not stored on our servers.
- Can I talk about this result with Maeumi?
- The analysis button opens a short conversation about the result. If an answer calls for safety support, support information is shown first and the app invitation and preview conversation are hidden.
- Can I send this check to a friend?
- Use Share test at the top of the screen to share the questionnaire link. This link does not contain your answers, result, name or account.