Table 1 Interview guide – core and probe questions, asked in semi-structured interviews, that pertain to the women's depression experiences

Can you tell me what it was like for you being depressed while you were pregnant?

• How did the depression affect your everyday life?

• What affect did it have on your relationships with your partner, children, family, friends or work colleagues?

• How did you make sense of the symptoms that you were experiencing?

• How would you describe the process of becoming aware that what you were feeling may have been depression?

Where there any events that you think contributed to your depressed mood?

• Did you experience any other issues like troubles with your job, money, or with family or friends at that time?

• How did those events contribute to your depression?

Before you went to see the doctor, what did you do about your mood and how you were feeling?

• Did you seek help or support from anyone? Was the support provided by that person helpful?

• What else did you do to cope with your mood? Did anyone comment on the way you were coping?

• What do you think would have helped you cope with your depression?

How did you make the decision to seek professional help for your mood?

• Did you have any concerns about going to your doctor about your mood?

• What were your expectations of the doctor?

What type of help did your doctor suggest for your depression?

• Did you take medication or have counselling for your mood while you were pregnant?

• How did you make that decision about that? Who or what information helped you make that decision?

• How hard was that decision?

• How did you feel about the way that your doctor helped you to manage/treat your mood?

• Did you wish that your doctor had managed/treated your depression differently?

How did you feel when you got the diagnosis of depression?

• What did that mean to you?

• Did you tell anyone? Who? Why/why not?

• How did you cope with this 'label'?

• How did you change when you got the diagnosis of depression?

How has your mood been since the birth of your baby?

• How did your mood affect your attachment with your baby?

• How did your mood affect your sense of yourself as a mother?

Is there anything else that you would like to tell me or that I should know?