Perinatal psychological well-being in women with zero postnatal anxiety-depressive symptoms scores: a retrospective descriptive study

ABSTRACT

Background: A total absence of psychological symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum period is not common. Although there are some considerations on zero scores detected by EPDS, no thorough analysis is currently present in the literature of the eventuality and meaning of a total absence of postpartum symptoms following the compilation of two or more self-report symptom questionnaires.

Methods: In a sample of 960 Italian women, three groups of 31 subjects are defined retrospectively by scores on the EPDS-GHQ12: women with ‘zero’, ‘lower’, and ‘higher’ postnatal symptomatology. The psychological well-being of these groups was compared as detected in pregnancy and after childbirth by PWB questionnaire.

Results: Higher and excessive scores in Environmental mastery dimension connote the profile of women with a total absence of postpartum anxiety-depression symptoms. Positive relations with other dimension were less characterising, but it should be noted as a distinctive trait in the ‘zero’ symptoms postnatal symptomatology group. In the same ‘zero’ group, the scores of the six PWB questionnaire dimensions – except Personal growth – are all higher than the scores obtained by women in the general population.

Conclusion: The atypical self-reported perinatal mood condition present in the ‘zero’ symptoms group have currently unknown clinical significance