Postnatal depressive symptoms affect a significant number of women giving birth in Australia, and the point prevalence on the EPDS may be higher for women in the public sector, associated with lower incomes and educational levels. Maternity services--particularly those serving women with these risk factors--need to consider how they identify and manage the emotional health needs of women in their care. Specific State-related issues, such as availability of specialist perinatal mental health services and liaison between treating health professionals, also need to be considered.
We replicated the factor structure of the anxiety subscale of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in a large convenience sample of Western Australian women who participated in the beyondblue National Postnatal Depression Program. In addition, we determined an appropriate cut-off score for the anxiety subscale. Factor analyses conducted on the EPDS responses yielded depression and anxiety factors as identified in previous research. Two-factor solutions accounted for over 50% of the variance at two time frames: antenatally (N=4,706) and at postnatal follow-up (N=3,853). The anxiety and depression factors had similar factor structures antenatally and postnatally and were consistent with previous published findings. The concurrent validity of the anxiety subscale was demonstrated by its significant relationship to anxiety-related items on a psychosocial risk factors questionnaire. Anxiety dropped significantly from the antenatal to the postnatal time period. These findings confirm the anxiety subscale of the EPDS and point to its utility in screening for anxiety symptoms using a cut-off score ≥4 which captured the top quartile of the antenatal sample.
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