Postpartum Depression Test: Is It More Than the Baby Blues?

Could you have postpartum depression? Many women experience feelings of sadness, mood swings, crying spells, and stress after having a baby, often due to the dramatic hormonal changes taking place in the body following childbirth. It’s normal to experience the “baby blues,” as they are commonly known, during this time, but these feelings tend to subside within a week or two. However, for some women, these feelings can be more severe and long-lasting resulting in depression, anxiety, and worry for months or longer. This is known as postpartum depression or major depression with peripartum onset.

Below is a list of questions that relate to life experiences women diagnosed with postpartum depression. Please read each question carefully and indicate whether you have experienced these thoughts or behaviors during pregnancy or in the four weeks following childbirth. You should only answer true if you have been experiencing the symptom nearly every day for at least 2 weeks.

Please keep in mind that this quiz is no substitute for a formal diagnosis. Only a licensed mental health professional or doctor can give a formal diagnosis of postpartum depression.

Your privacy is important to us. All results are completely anonymous.

I have little interest in or get little pleasure from doing things I once enjoyed.

Always

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

I feel down and hopeless.

Always

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

I find it hard to fall and stay asleep OR I want to sleep most of the time.

Always

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

I have little energy to do even the simplest of tasks.

Always

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

I feel like a failure as a mother and guilty for not being happy around my baby.

Always

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

The thought of harming myself has occurred to me.

Always

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

I find it difficult to concentrate.

Always

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

I feel like I’m living in slow motion; I move, speak, react, and think more slowly than I used to.

Always

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

I feel anxious and panicky for no good reason.

Always

Frequently

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

The way I’m feeling makes it difficult to enjoy or get on with my daily life.

Always

Frequently

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

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