Final answer:
The EPDS is used to screen for postpartum depression and includes specific questions about feelings and experiences unique to new mothers, such as anxious feelings and thoughts of self-harm, while the PHQ-9 is a more general depression assessment tool not tailored for the postpartum period.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is specifically designed to screen for depression in the postpartum period. Unlike the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), which assesses the severity of depression across a wider population, the EPDS includes items that are sensitive to the emotional experience of new mothers, such as the intensity of anxious feelings and the occurrence of thoughts of self-harm.
The PHQ-9 is a more general screening tool used for identifying and measuring the severity of depression. It does not contain items explicitly related to postpartum depression or the unique experiences associated with it.
The presence of items on the EPDS that directly address symptoms, such as feelings of guilt or blame, fear for the baby, and thoughts of self-harm within the postnatal context, distinguish it from the PHQ-9 and point towards its specific use for new mothers.