INTRODUCTION: Antenatal education is an established public health strategy to influence higher levels of perinatal physiological well-being for childbearing women in many countries. The influence of antenatal education on higher levels of perinatal psychological well-being in childbearing women is not documented so well.

METHOD: Three hundred and eight primiparous women participated in a study to test the effect of an antenatal educational intervention at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, the Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide and the Kirwan Women's Hospital, Townsville. A prospective, longitudinal, experimental matched-group design was employed with women divided into two groups (Group A and Group B) and their mood measured once antenatally and twice postnatally with the Scale for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (modified for childbearing women) (SADS-M) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) . Research assistants administered the educational intervention of a purpose-designed booklet and an audiotape of one woman's experience of postnatal dysphoria and depression to women in Group A at the three sites antenatally with a standardised interview which was repeated postnatally. Group B received the standardised interview only and Group C, as the control group, were recruited antenatally but measured for mood only once postnatally.

RESULTS: No significant difference were found between Group A and Group B on the SADS-M but Group A was lower than Group C on the following items: Dysphoric Mood; Quality of Mood; Worrying; Self-Reproach; and Weight Gain. Group A was also lower than Group C on the following POMS subscales: Fatigue and Tension. Mean age of all groups was 26 years.

FINDINGS: Although no measurable effect of an educational intervention administered antenatally was found, the results demonstrate that young Australian primiparous women who receive a structured interview to measure mood plus an educational interview antenatally are lower on measures of dysphoric mood, quality of mood, worrying and self-reproach postnatally than those who do not receive such attention. They are also less tense and less fatigued.