Many mothers and their babies are suffering needlessly from postnatal depression as symptoms are not being spotted and treated quick enough, according to a new survey.

Online therapy provider PsychologyOnline, based in Swavesey, ran the national study in partnership with Infertility Network UK and backed by Netmums to better understand factors that contribute to postnatal depression and why some women do not seek help.

The survey used the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale to provide an indicator of the severity of depression, and also asked women about their personal circumstances, support network and attitudes to talking about their feelings.

A PsychologyOnline spokeswoman said: “The findings have indicated an association between the perceptions of the women, their personal circumstances and a score for degree of depression.

“This suggests that a predisposition to postnatal depression may be detectable before childbirth and if so it may create an opportunity to target support effectively.”

The service is hosting a webinar on the subject on July 9. To book a place, email info@psychologyonline.co.uk with ‘PND webinar’ in the subject field, providing a name, organisation (if applicable) and email address.