Relationship discord at childbirth and parental postpartum depressive symptoms 431 Developmentally, there is a risk for a child when one parent is depressed, and if both parents are depressed the risk increases even more (8). Post- partum depression aggravates a parent’s ability to become involved with a child and may even lead to abuse (9). Maternal postpartum depression negatively affects mother–child bonding (10) and mother–infant interaction (11). Paternal postpartum depression is associated with later disorders in children, especially regarding the behavioural development of sons (12,13). Parental depression in early parenthood, investigated when the children were 24 months old, has been found to have a negative impact on parent- to-child reading frequency, and children of depressed fathers have a higher risk of limitations in their exp- ressive vocabulary (14). The negative consequences of postpartum depressive symptoms make it impor- tant to identify depressive symptoms early, in order to prevent and minimize potentially harmful effects on the infant, as well as on the depressed parent (15). Several studies have found an association between maternal and paternal postpartum depression (16–18). If one of the parents suffers from depression, the other may also develop it (19). The strongest predictor of paternal depression during the postpar- tum period is maternal depression (8). Low levels of social support and a previous history of depression are associated with postpartum depressive symptoms among both mothers (3) and fathers (20). For mothers, the key domains for acquiring postpartum depression are a past history of depression (whether postnatal or otherwise), a history of abuse, and personality style (21). Cox et al. found no difference in the point prevalence of depression for mothers measured 6 months after childbirth (9.1%) compared to a group of control women who were neither pregnant nor had given birth in the previous 12 months (8.2%), but a 3-fold higher rate of onset of depression was found within 5 weeks of childbirth (22). Pregnant women are less likely than non-pregnant women of child- bearing age to seek treatment for mental disorder (23). If a mother or father suffers from postpartum depressive symptoms it can affect not only the person him-/herself but also their relationship and their child (12,16). Transition to parenthood may involve a decline in marital satisfaction for both women and men (24). Thus, it could be expected that low levels of parental relationship quality might be associated with post- partum depressive symptoms. Despite the fact that postpartum depressive symptoms are common among both women and men, research concerning the asso- ciation between postpartum depressive symptoms and relationship discord is scarce. The study by Salmela- Aro showed that a high level of postpartum depressive symptoms is associated with a low level of relationship satisfaction (25). However, to the best of our knowl- edge, no previous research has studied the association between parents’ perceived level of relationship discord in speciﬁc areas (e.g. recreational activities or household tasks) and postpartum depressive symp- toms. The aim of the present study was to examine whether mothers’ and fathers’ levels of perceived relationship discord at childbirth were associated with postpartum depressive symptoms when the child was 3 months old. Another aim was to examine parents’ levels of self-reported depressive symptoms. The hypothesis was that parents with high levels of perceived relationship discord had higher levels of postpartum depressive symptoms than parents with low levels of perceived relationship discord. Materials and methods The present study is part of an extensive cohort study which aims to discover if there are differences in mothers’ and fathers’ views on children and the family, and whether the father’s involvement can be beneﬁcial for a child’s physical and psycho-social well- being. Structured questionnaires were given to mothers and fathers during the ﬁrst visit to the CHC (baseline) and at 3 months postpartum. At baseline, the mothers’ and fathers’ perceived levels of relationship discord were measured using the Dyadic Consensus Subscale (DCS) of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) (26). Three months postpartum, the parents’ self-reported depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) (27). Further, the mothers and fathers answered demo- graphic questions in the baseline questionnaire. Data collection procedures Swedish-speaking parents of children born through the years 2004–2006 in the northern part of the county of Västmanland, Sweden, were asked by the CHC nurses to participate in the study. The parents were recruited consecutively, regardless of whether it was their ﬁrst child or whether they were already parents. The baseline questionnaire was answered by 100% of the mothers and 98% of the fathers. The aim was to recruit 400 couples, since a power calculation before the study concluded that a response rate of 67% from 380 couples was needed. The aim was well achieved when 401 couples were included. At baseline the CHC nurses gave the parents oral and written information about the project. Thor- ough instructions emphasized that it was important that the questionnaires were ﬁlled in separately by each parent. A cover letter explaining the aim of the