Do not minimize signs of postpartum depression! Early intervention essential to prevent negative consequences for the child

Recent clinical research reveals that postnatal depression is associated with disturbances in the mother-infant relationship. These disturbances have in turn an adverse impact on the child's cognitive and emotional development. Postnatal depression affects 8-15 percent of women in the first months after delivery. The use of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) has proven useful in Swedish child health care to help nurses identify mothers with symptoms of depression. Weekly counselling visits by trained nurses are effective as the first treatment of choice for most women with postnatal depression.