Objective: To investigate the relationship between maternity blues and postpartum depression in mothers discharged early from the hospital and those discharged after the customary length of hospital stay.
Design: A descriptive correlation design.
Setting: 550-bed community and teaching hospital in the midwestern United States.
Participants: 49 privately paying, primiparous, American-born women, 18 years of age or older, with uncomplicated pregnancies and vaginal deliveries of healthy neonates weighing 2,600-4,000 g.
Measures: Stein Maternity Blues Scale and Beck Depression Inventory were used to collect data.
Results: No significant differences found between the two groups of mothers; significant relationships found between maternity blues at 1 week after delivery and postpartum depression at 6 and 12 weeks after delivery.
Conclusions: Early discharge appears to pose no threat to psychologic well-being. Primiparas experiencing more severe maternity blues are at increased risk for postpartum depression.