Abstract
This paper sets out the extent to which postnatal depression (PND) existed within the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia in 1993/94. More importantly, the phenomenon of PND, from the mothers' perspective, is described. The paper is based on a two-stage research carried out on PND from 1993 to 1994. In the first stage, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to screen mothers for PND. A random sample of 399 women showed 72 (18 percent) were found to be suffering from a depressive illness of varying severity. The second stage of the study used a grounded theory approach. Fifteen mothers with PND from the group screened were interviewed in their own homes. A schema, developed from the data, revealed that the main problems of the mothers was vulnerability. Support played a pivotal role in the transition from PND to stable motherhood. There was a long and short circuit followed, according to the availability and non-availability of support.
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