Free postpartum anxiety quiz · For new & expecting parents · GAD-7
Free postpartum anxiety quiz.
Seven questions about the past two weeks, about two minutes. This free postpartum anxiety test is the GAD-7, the anxiety screener most widely used in pregnancy and after birth. It will not diagnose you, but it can help you see whether the worry has grown past what this season asks of you.
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About this screener
When the worry will not switch off.
Postpartum anxiety gets less attention than postpartum depression, but it is at least as common: checking the baby again even though you just did, a mind that races through worst-case scenarios at 3am, a body that stays braced long after everything is fine. Some vigilance is part of loving a newborn. This screener asks whether it has tipped into something that is costing you rest, ease, and yourself.
Answer for the past two weeks, not just today. When you finish, you will see your score and what it suggests in plain language, with a next step if you want one.
Feeling more sad or heavy than wound up? Take the postpartum depression quiz
The GAD-7 was developed by Robert L. Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet B.W. Williams, and colleagues, with an educational grant from Pfizer. No permission is required to reproduce it, and it is reproduced here for educational screening use.
You are allowed to need support
Maternal mental health care in North County.
A newborn asks everything of you, and anxiety can convince you that vigilance is the only way to keep everyone safe. Our clinicians specialize in the perinatal season and know how postpartum anxiety actually loosens. In Carlsbad, Encinitas, Vista, or online across California. It starts with a free 15-minute consultation.
Further reading
More from the Undercurrent.
Questions
About the postpartum anxiety quiz.
01 Is this an official diagnosis of postpartum anxiety?
No. The GAD-7 is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. It measures how often anxiety symptoms have bothered you over the past two weeks. Only a clinical evaluation can tell you whether you are experiencing a perinatal anxiety disorder.
02 Why does a postpartum anxiety quiz use the GAD-7?
There is no single standard screener made only for postpartum anxiety, so clinicians and researchers most often use the GAD-7 during pregnancy and after birth, where it has been validated. It is the same brief measure we offer as a general anxiety quiz; here it is read in the context of the perinatal season, where anxiety has its own textures and its own very good treatments.
03 What do the score ranges mean?
Scores of 0 to 4 suggest minimal anxiety, 5 to 9 mild, 10 to 14 moderate, and 15 to 21 severe. A score of 10 or higher is where clinicians usually look more closely. The number is a starting point for a conversation, not a label, and no score is required before you deserve support.
04 How is postpartum anxiety different from postpartum depression?
Postpartum depression tends to pull mood down: sadness, heaviness, losing interest, feeling like a bad parent. Postpartum anxiety tends to wind the system up: constant worry, checking, restlessness, a mind that will not switch off even when the baby sleeps. They often overlap, and both are common and treatable. If low mood sounds closer to your experience, our postpartum depression quiz uses the Edinburgh scale, the standard perinatal depression screener.
05 Are scary, intrusive thoughts about my baby normal?
Unwanted, intrusive thoughts, including frightening ones about harm coming to the baby, are very common in the postpartum period and are usually a sign of anxiety, not of who you are or what you want. Having a thought is not the same as acting on one. If these thoughts are frequent or distressing, a perinatal therapist can help, and it is safe to tell them.
06 Can I take this during pregnancy, not just after birth?
Yes. The GAD-7 is used and validated during pregnancy as well as postpartum. Perinatal simply means the time around pregnancy and birth, and anxiety in either season deserves the same care.
07 What if I feel like I am in crisis right now?
Please reach out for support right now. You can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, free and available 24/7, or call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room if you are in immediate danger. Postpartum Support International also runs a free helpline at 1-800-944-4773. You do not have to be in crisis to ask for help, and you do not have to face this alone.
Ready when you are
The worry does not get the last word.
Starting is a small step: a short, no-pressure conversation to see if we are a good fit. We would be glad to hear from you.