Abstract
John Cox, Jeni Holden and Carol Henshaw, Perinatal Mental Health: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) Manual, 2nd ed. London, UK: RCPsych Publications, 2014. 9781909726130; 232 pp.: £20.00 (pbk)
The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2020, depression will be the leading cause of premature death and disability worldwide. As detailed in the SIGN guidelines on postnatal depression, around 100–150 women per 1000 live births will experience a depressive illness, and the potential for profoundly negative effects on mother, child, and family is considerable.
Developed by John Cox and Jeni Holden in 1987, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) has become a fundamental and important screening tool for practitioners and researchers in the field of perinatal psychiatry, both in the UK and internationally. This manual, now in its second edition, is authored in part by Cox and Holden and represents – in their words – the ‘definitive’ guide to the practical application of the scale in these settings.
Beginning with an overview of the condition itself and an account of the EPDS’s origins, the manual covers ground swiftly and expertly, from the evidence base backing the scale to the intricacies of its use. Each section is thorough yet concise, much as a good manual should be.
Perhaps hoping to bulk up what would otherwise be a pocket book, the authors digress into the area of interventions in postnatal depression. Though brief and informative, this section nevertheless distracts from the manual’s basic purpose and warrants a book of its own.
In acknowledgement of the scale’s growing and deserved international popularity, the authors include an impressive and truly global selection of translations in the appendix, much expanded from the previous edition and a commendable nod to the often understated burden of poor maternal mental health in the developing world.
To conclude, this manual does indeed represent the definitive text on this important tool. Whilst straying slightly from its target, it is nevertheless an essential purchase for those intending to utilise the EPDS in practice or research.
Reviewed by: Dr Richard Pye MBChB BSc FY1 Paediatric Surgery, Yorkhill Hospital, UK