Postnatal depression: A study of mothers in the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia

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.