Postpartum depression test
This is a screening check-in, not a diagnosis. Talk to a doctor, midwife or nurse practitioner for one.
The PHQ-9: 9 questions about the last 2 weeks, about 2 minutes. Your answers stay in your browser.
- Questions
- Result
Question 1 of 9
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?
Why the Edinburgh scale isn't here
The best-known postpartum scale is the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), a 10-question self-report scale built in 1987 to screen new mothers for postnatal depression.1 We'd have liked to use it. Its copyright sits with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which asks anyone reusing it to request permission through the publisher,2 and in 2013 the College said that copying it for others or republishing it online needs written permission.3 We don't have that permission.
This page runs the PHQ-9 instead, which is free to reproduce, display and distribute.4 Half of the 6,000 patients in its validation study, 3,000 of them, were seen in obstetrics and gynecology clinics, and the scale did about as well there as in primary care.5 6 The two scales ask different questions and score differently. If you want the Edinburgh scale itself, further down this page says how to ask for it.
The three questions a newborn can skew
Questions 3, 4 and 5 ask about sleep, energy and appetite.
Caring for a newborn can change all three on its own. If the baby is the reason you picked a higher answer there, say so when you share the result, so the person reading it knows.
Reading your total
Each of the nine answers scores 0 to 3, so the total runs from 0 to 27.5
| Score | Band |
|---|---|
| 0 to 4 | None-minimal |
| 5 to 9 | Mild |
| 10 to 14 | Moderate |
| 15 to 19 | Moderately severe |
| 20 to 27 | Severe |
The PHQ-9's authors treat 10 or more as a "yellow flag", a reason to look more closely with a clinician, and 15 or more as a "red flag".6 A low total doesn't mean everything is fine. If something feels wrong, tell someone whatever your number.
Your result begins with the questions you marked "Not at all". Those show what is still steady.
The last question asks about thoughts of being better off dead or of hurting yourself. Any answer other than "Not at all" pauses the check-in and shows ways to reach someone right away.
How to get the Edinburgh scale
You don't need to find it yourself. Ask for it, at two kinds of visit.
At your own checkups, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' 2023 guideline covers screening for depression and anxiety during pregnancy and the year after birth.7 Ask your obstetrician, midwife or primary care clinician to screen you.
At your baby's checkups, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening mothers for postpartum depression at the 1, 2, 4 and 6 month well-baby visits.8 That's four chances in the first half year, from a doctor you're already seeing.
Lines for new parents
- National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. Call or text 1-833-852-6262 (1-833-TLC-MAMA). It's free, confidential and open 24/7, in English and Spanish, for pregnant people and new parents.9
- Postpartum Support International HelpLine. Call or text 1-800-944-4773 (#1 Spanish, #2 English). Leave a confidential message and a trained volunteer gets back to you with support and resources. In a crisis, PSI says to call your doctor or emergency services instead.10
- Feeling unsafe, or thinking about harming yourself or your baby. Call or text 988, or call 911.
The PHQ-9 on this page
Who built the PHQ-9, and how, is on the depression test page. On this page, the questions, answer options and scoring match the publisher's English form word for word, as of our check on October 29, 2026.
Pfizer's screener site states the license without conditions: "All PHQ, GAD-7 screeners and translations are downloadable from this website and no permission is required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute them."4
Everything is scored in your browser, and the page keeps nothing. Your answers aren't stored or sent, to us or to anyone. No ad tag runs here, and the Vercel Web Analytics that counts visits to the site gets the visit, never the answers.
Write about one moment from the last few days that felt like you. What were you doing, and who was there?
Answer this with JoyQuestions people ask
When does postpartum depression start?
It can start during pregnancy or at any point in the first year after birth, the whole stretch ACOG's guideline covers.7 So a check-in can be worth doing months after the birth, as well as in the first weeks.
How do you get tested for postpartum depression?
Ask your obstetrician, midwife, primary care clinician or your baby's pediatrician. Screening uses a short questionnaire such as the Edinburgh scale or the PHQ-9. If your screen comes back positive, treat it as the start of a conversation, not a diagnosis: talk through what you're going through and what would help.
What about postpartum anxiety?
ACOG's guideline covers anxiety after birth as well as depression.7 The anxiety test (GAD-7) uses the same answer options as the PHQ-9, so the two are easy to bring together.
Is this the same as the Edinburgh test?
No. This is the PHQ-9, with different questions and a different score range. If you want the Edinburgh scale, ask at your next checkup or your baby's.
Related
- Depression test (PHQ-9): the same scale, with more on how it was built.
- Anxiety test (GAD-7).