RESEARCH DESIGN COUC 515
Building a Research Design
School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
Abstract
The research questioned that will be examined through this study is: Does epidural analgesia
put mothers at an increased risk for postpartum depression? A quanitative study will be
performed, utilizing a quasi-experimental design. No less than 50 women of non-equivelent
groups (those who chose an epidural and those who did not) will be interviewed and also take
RESEARCH DESIGN COUC 515
an online survey. Their baseline information will be collected, including number of children, age,
prior depression, and pregnancy complications in order to adjust for factors that could affect
postpartum depression. Postpartum depression will be measured six weeks after delivery using
the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as well as an over the phone interview including ten
questions where mother’s can rank their feelings on a scale of 1-10, and also five open-ended
questions. Findings from this study might clarify whether epidural analgesia contributes to
postpartum depression and help guide interventions to support maternal mental health after
childbirth.
Keywords: postpartum depression, epidural analgesia, quantitative study, quasi-experimental
Quantitative
Approved Research Question
Does epidural analgesia put mothers at an increased risk for postpartum depression?
Experimental Design
The experimental design will be quasi-experimental. It will be quasi-experimental
because It would not be ethical or realistic to randomly assign the pregnant women to receive
an epidural during labor. Instead, a cohort design allows researchers to compare women who
choose an epidural with those refuse one, while measuring rates of postpartum depression
afterward.
Participants
The study will include mothers between 18 and 40 who deliver at one of two local
hospitals. The goal will be to interview 50 or more mothers. The two hospitals will be UAB St.
Vincint’s and Baptist Health Princeton Hospital. They need to have given birth to a live child and
be able to fill out surveys in English or Spanish. I will choose not to include women who had
general anesthesia, stillbirths, previous history of clinical depression, or very serious psychiatric
issues that require inpatient care. My goal is to have a mix of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic
backgrounds so the results apply to the majority of the population.
RESEARCH DESIGN COUC 515
Methodology
This study will use non-equivalent groups based on whether mothers naturally choose to
have an epidural or not. My research question is: Does epidural analgesia put mothers at an
increased risk for postpartum depression? It would not be ethical to assign mothers to a certain
group, so they will simply fall into their chosen category. When they arrive at the hospital,
baseline information will be recorded including their age, number of children, prior depression,
and pregnancy complications at hospital admission so I can adjust for other factors that might
affect postpartum depression. I will include at least 50 participants but hopefully more, and I
would like for their to be a relatively equal number of women who do receive an epidural
compared to those who do not. If the two hospitals are willing, we could increase the incentive
for the women to take part in the study by the hospital offering a small discount on the cost of
the hospital bill for the birth for women who choose to take part. Six weeks after birth,
participants will complete the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (Cox, Holden, & Sagovsky,
1987) to measure postpartum depression. An interview will also be conducted to capture
mothers’ experiences with pain management and emotional well-being.
Data Collection
I will have the female participants fill out a short survey at hospital admission to capture
demographics and prenatal mental health. I’ll also pull information from their medical record
about epidural use and delivery details after they give birth. Because women often reach the
height of postpartum depression six weeks after giving birth (Mayo Clinic, 2022), during this
time frame I will send them an online or mailed survey about postpartum depression. I will use
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale which is a 10-item questionnaire commonly used to
screen postpartum depression (Cox, Holden, & Sagovsky, 1987). The reported Cronbach’s alpha
ranges from approximately .80 to .87, showing that it is a reliable tool. Additionally, since it may
be hard to distinguish these women’s true feelings from a ten item survey, I will also preform
RESEARCH DESIGN COUC 515
structured interviews where myself or trained staff will call the mother at six-weeks postpartum
and ask a series of ten pre-determined questions where participants can rank their feelings on a
scale of 1-10, and we can also include five open-ended questions at the end of the survey to get
more of a feel for the mother’s true feelings, pain management, and emotional well-being. An
instrument I could use to extend the research would be the Multidimensional Scale of Percieved
Social Support. This is a 12-question survey that examines how much support the new mom
feels she has from her friends, family and husband (Zimet et al., 1988). Crohnbach’s alpha is
around .85 to .91. This survey could help examine if social support aids postpartum depression
outcomes.
RESEARCH DESIGN COUC 515
References
Cox, J. L., Holden, J. M., & Sagovsky, R. (1987). Detection of postnatal depression:
Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of
Psychiatry, 150, 782-786.
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2022, November 24). Postpartum
Depression. Mayo Clinic.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postpartumdepression/symptoms-
causes/syc-20376617
Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The Multidimensional Scale
of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30-41.
RESEARCH DESIGN COUC 515
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