Postnatal depression has attracted the attention of researchers and clinicians, but little attention has been paid to stress and anxiety during this period. Depression is treated as the main clinical feature of poor functioning in the postnatal period. Symptoms of anxiety are included in the diagnosis of depression, but anxiety can also occur in the absence of depression. There is a need to distinguish between postnatal depression and anxiety and to recognise where depression and anxiety co-occur. In a study conducted in Melbourne Australia, it was shown that among women who had recently given birth, 25 per cent of women may have depression, 16 per cent were found to be depressed, 10 per cent showed symptoms of anxiety and stress without the presence of depression, and 13 per cent had anxiety alone or in combination with depression. Anxiety and stress in the postnatal period are observed to occur independently of depression, indicating the importance of covering psychological diagnosis not only because of the possibility of postnatal depression.