Free tool
EPDS calculator (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale)
Score the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in the browser — handling the reverse-scored items, both published cut-offs (≥11 and ≥13), and the item-10 self-harm flag — and print a worksheet. A screening aid, not a diagnosis, and nothing you enter leaves your device.
EPDS (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) worksheet — ____________
For each item, pick the response that comes closest to how the mother has felt over the past 7 days — not just how she feels today. Several positively-worded items are reverse-scored; the number beside each answer is the score it carries, and the calculator totals it for you.
EPDS · Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (past 7 days)
EPDS total
—/ 30
Answer all 10 items to see the band
Screening aid, not a diagnosis. The EPDS is a self-report screen, not a clinical assessment; a positive screen indicates a higher likelihood of perinatal depression and the need for clinical evaluation — it never establishes a diagnosis. Scores support, not replace, clinical assessment.
Item 10 (self-harm / suicidal thoughts): any non-zero answer requires the clinician to directly assess self-harm and suicide risk and act on it, regardless of the total, before the patient leaves the room. Cut-offs vary by population and translation — verify against your current local / national perinatal mental-health guideline.
Privacy: Runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter is sent to a server or stored.
The EPDS is © 1987 The Royal College of Psychiatrists. Scoring and cut-offs reproduced from: Levis B, Negeri Z, Sun Y, Benedetti A, Thombs BD. Accuracy of the EPDS for screening to detect major depression among pregnant and postpartum women: systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis. BMJ 2020;371:m4022 (PMC7656313).; Cox JL, Holden JM, Sagovsky R. Detection of postnatal depression. Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Br J Psychiatry 1987;150:782–786..
How the EPDS is scored
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is a 10-item self-report screen for how a mother has felt over the past seven days. Each item scores 0–3, and several positively-worded items are reverse-scored, so the response wording matters — this tool handles that for you and totals to 0–30. A higher total means a higher likelihood that a clinical evaluation is warranted; it is never a diagnosis. Item 10 asks about self-harm and is treated separately: any non-zero answer calls for a direct risk assessment regardless of the total.
Two published cut-offs are offered. A total of 11 or more maximises combined sensitivity and specificity in the Levis et al. BMJ 2020 individual-participant-data meta-analysis; 13 or more is the traditional Cox threshold. Both are reproduced from the cited sources below, not from us, and the result is a likelihood-of-screening-positive band — not a diagnosis.
Many clinics still hand-score this on paper. If you run a mental-health or perinatal practice, our psychiatry workflow page explains how Avinya Plus's template builder and formula engine let you build an EPDS form, total it with the reverse-scoring applied, and flag item 10 inside the record — and an OB-GYN clinic can do the same at the postnatal visit. Avinya Plus ships no pre-built EPDS instrument — you configure it; the arithmetic and banding are the engine's.
Frequently asked questions
- How is the EPDS scored?
- Each of the 10 items is scored 0 to 3 for how the mother has felt over the past seven days, and the items are summed to a 0–30 total. Several positively-worded items are reverse-scored, which the calculator handles using each item’s own response wording.
- What EPDS cut-off should I use?
- Two published cut-offs are offered. A total of 11 or more maximises combined sensitivity and specificity in the Levis et al. BMJ 2020 meta-analysis; 13 or more is the traditional Cox threshold for probable depressive illness. The result is a likelihood band, not a diagnosis.
- What does EPDS item 10 mean?
- Item 10 screens for thoughts of self-harm. Any non-zero answer calls for a direct, in-person self-harm and suicide risk assessment straight away, independent of the total score. The calculator flags it for you.
- Is an EPDS score a diagnosis?
- No. The EPDS is a validated screening aid, not a diagnostic instrument. A positive screen indicates a higher likelihood of perinatal depression and the need for a full clinical evaluation; it does not by itself establish a diagnosis.
- Does any of the data I enter leave my browser?
- No. The scoring runs entirely in your browser; nothing you enter is sent to a server or stored. The print option produces a clean worksheet you can save as a PDF.
Sources
- Levis B, Negeri Z, Sun Y, Benedetti A, Thombs BD. Accuracy of the EPDS for screening to detect major depression among pregnant and postpartum women: systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis. BMJ 2020;371:m4022 (PMC7656313).
- Cox JL, Holden JM, Sagovsky R. Detection of postnatal depression. Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Br J Psychiatry 1987;150:782–786.
The EPDS is © 1987 The Royal College of Psychiatrists (Cox, Holden & Sagovsky, Br J Psychiatry 1987;150:782–786). It may be reproduced without permission provided the copyright is respected and it is not changed or sold; it is NOT public domain. Cut-offs are reproduced from the Levis et al. BMJ 2020 IPD meta-analysis (≥11 maximises combined sensitivity/specificity; ≥13 is the traditional Cox threshold) — a likelihood-of-screening-positive band, not a diagnosis. Reviewed against the sources on 2026-06-29.
Build the screen into the record, not the printer.
In Avinya Plus you can build an EPDS form in the template builder, let the formula engine total it with the reverse-scoring, and flag item 10 — kept on the consultation note. See it configured on a quick demo.