Use of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in a southern, rural population in the United States.

1. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to screen for the incidence of postpartum depression in women receiving their pre- and post-partal care at a southern, rural health department maternity clinic. 2. One hundred eighty-one women completed the EPDS during their postpartum visit. Scores on the EPDS ranged from 0 to 27. Thirty-six of the 181 subjects (19.9%) had scores of 12 or more, the threshold identified by Cox, et al. (1987) as indicating women likely to be experiencing postpartum depression. 3. Results support use of the EPDS as a screening tool for postpartum depression in this population.