The Development of Circadian Rhythms in Human Infants

2.9 Supplementary questionnaires
There were several supplementary questionnaires that were employed for the purposes
of this study to gain further background information about the families and carers
(mainly mothers) of the infants enrolled in the project. The social circumstances of
the family and the wellbeing and health of the mother may have direct impact on the
care of the infant and indeed their physiological maturation. Questions about the
impact of having a newborn baby were included in the lifestyle questionnaire.
Mothers also listed adverse life events which may have coincided with the birth of
their infants (Corney, 1988). It was felt important to have a screening questionnaire
to assess maternal mental state. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Score (EPDS)
was selected as a well known and validated tool (Cox et al., 1987). If a mother
scored between 9 and 11 she was deemed to be at risk. The family health visitor and
GP were informed, with permission. A score of above 12 was of more concern as it
pointed to a possible diagnosis of postnatal depression. Thirdly a questionnaire with
a scoring scheme for the amount of support (physical/emotional/professional) each
mother had available was included (Murray: personal communication). Each
questionnaire is included in appendix 2.
2.10 Analysis
The software packages used for the analysis were Microsoft Excel, SPSS versions 14
& 16, STATA and R version 2.8 statistical packages.
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