Three questions could help detect postpartum depression. Routine screening for postpartum depression significantly improves detection, but it is not standard practice due to time and other constraints.

The study, “Identifying Postpartum Depression: Are 3 Questions as Good as 10?” found asking a new mother three simple questions may be just as effective as a longer survey at detecting this common medical problem.

Researchers asked 199 young women to complete the 10-question Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) during well-child visits to the pediatrician. Researchers found that answers to the three questions of the EPDS that focus on anxiety - a prominent feature of postpartum depression - identified 95 percent of depressed mothers.

In clinical situations where a very short screening tool may be necessary (i.e, well child visits), using the three-item anxiety subscale of the EPDS is a useful and brief screening tool for postpartum depression.