A literature search was conducted to find universal descriptions of ante-, post-, and perinatal depression with a special focus on the seven domains: sleeping and eating disturbances, anxiety and insecurity, emotional lability, loss of self, mental confusion, guilt and shame, and suicidal ideation. To complement the literature findings records from two primary health services were retrospectively reviewed to note the presence of any domain and the approaches taken.

Over a million articles on perinatal depression were found with domain-specific articles ranging from 121 to 5703. Clinic records confirmed the relevance of these domains for perinatal women.

If health care professionals examined the domains and re-framed the diagnosis as emotional distress the root causes of the distress can be managed without the stigma of a pathological depression diagnosis and medications.