The emotional state of mothers in the first three months after the birth of their baby.

A questionnaire was sent to the 98 health visitors who had taken part in the postnatal questionnaire study, asking them for comments on its difficulties and benefits. In their answers they referred to their staffing difficulties, the mothers' language problems, doubt about the truthfulness and accuracy of the mothers' replies to their questionnaire, and to difficulties experienced in liaison with family doctors, hospital psychiatric units, social workers and other social services. Of the 69 health visitors who replied to the questionnaire, 48 (70 per cent) thought that the study had been helpful, 14 had mixed feelings and six replied in the negative. There was little doubt that the postnatal questionnaire study had greatly increased the health visitors' understanding of maternal emotional problems and depression, and the difficulties of helping the mothers. It helped the mothers to understand more of their own feelings, and to discuss them with the health visitors in order to seek advice.