Pathology of Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium Codexery

Postpartum psychosis

Abrupt postpartum psychosis requiring emergency psychiatric care.

It is a life-threatening psychiatric emergency that occurs in one to two of every 1000 childbirths.[1][2] The condition requires urgent hospitalization due to risks to the patient and infant.[1] Following childbirth, psychotic symptoms can appear abruptly, most often within a two-week window, in a condition known as postpartum psychosis (PPP).[3]

Quick Facts

Symptoms
  • Hallucinations
  • delusions
  • mood swings
  • confusion
  • restlessness
  • personality changes
Causes
Genetic and environmental
Risks
  • Family history
  • bipolar disorder
  • schizophrenia
  • difficult pregnancy
Treatment
  • Antipsychotics
  • mood stabilizers
  • antidepressants

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, about 50 brief reports regarding postpartum psychosis were published.[4] The condition was recognized again with the 1994 release of the DSM-IV, using the specifier "with postpartum onset"[5] The cause of PPP is currently unknown, though hormonal, immune, genetic, and circadian rhythm factors are under investigation.[6] In 1797, a Tübingen obstetrician named Osiander published detailed accounts of two cases, which notably advanced the contemporary understanding of the disorder.[4]

More than 2,500 theses, articles, and books on the subject appeared over the subsequent two centuries.[7]

What the research sources say

A 2009 HuffPost article reported that an estimated one or two women in one thousand will develop full-blown postpartum psychosis.[2] The same source noted that the United States stood as a glaring outlier among enlightened democracies by making no legal distinction for troubled mothers who kill their children.[2] The MGH Center for Women's Mental Health stated that there is no single symptom or constellation of symptoms that reliably identifies postpartum psychosis, especially in its earliest stages.[8] That source also noted that postpartum psychosis most often begins as an affective mood episode, with mood symptoms appearing before hallucinations or delusions become obvious.[8]

A BBC News article from 2011 reported that about 1,000 women in the UK suffer from postpartum psychosis each year.[9] The same BBC article stated that genetic factors are important, and a woman is more likely to have postpartum psychosis if a close relative has had it.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Postpartum psychosis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Recognizing and Managing Postpartum Psychosis: A Clinical Guide for Obstetric Providers", Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, September 2018, p. 455–468; "Psychiatric Emergencies in Pregnancy and Postpartum", Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, September 2018, p. 615–627; "Delusional Misidentification Syndromes in Postpartum Psychosis: A Systematic Review", Psychopathology, September 2022, p. 285–294; "Recognizing and Managing Postpartum Psychosis: A Clinical Guide for Obstetric Providers", Obstetrics and Gynecolog en.wikipedia.org
  2. "When Infanticide Isn't Murder", HuffPost, 8 November 2009. facts only, no text reused. huffpost.com
  3. Wikipedia, "Postpartum psychosis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Recognizing and Managing Postpartum Psychosis: A Clinical Guide for Obstetric Providers", Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, September 2018, p. 455–468; Toor, "Postpartum Psychosis: A Preventable Psychiatric Emergency", Focus, January 16, 2024, p. 44–52 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Postpartum psychosis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Van Foreest P (1609) Puerperas nonnunquam phreniticas fierit & sineglectim habeantur, sibi ipsis vim inferre. Observationes, scholio 7, lib. 10.; Bartholomaeo de Battista a St Georgio (1784) Von der Tollsucht den Kindbetterinnen, in his Abhandlung von den Krankheiten des schönen Geschlechtes, Vienna, Sonn; Osiander F B (1797). Neue Denkwürdigkeiten für Ärzte und Geburtshelfer. Göttingen, Rosenbusch, volume 1, pages 52-89, 90-128. These cases have been translated i; Esquirol J E D (1819) De l'aliénation mentale des nouvelles accouch en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Postpartum psychosis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Spinelli, "Postpartum psychosis: a diagnosis for the DSMV", Archives of Women's Mental Health, 2021-10-01, p. 817–822; Spinelli, "Postpartum psychosis: a diagnosis for the DSMV", Archives of Women's Mental Health, 2021-10-01, p. 817–822; Rai, "Postpartum psychiatric disorders: Early diagnosis and management", Indian Journal of Psychiatry, July 2015, p. S216–221 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Postpartum psychosis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Immune System Alterations and Postpartum Mental Illness: Evidence From Basic and Clinical Research", Frontiers in Global Women's Health, 2021; "Textbook of Women's Reproductive Mental Health", American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 2021; "Recognizing and Managing Postpartum Psychosis: A Clinical Guide for Obstetric Providers", Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, September 2018, p. 455–468; "Recognizing and Managing Postpartum Psychosis: A Clinical Guide for Obstetric Providers", Obstetrics and Gynecology Clin en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Postpartum psychosis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Delay J, Boitelle G, Corteel A (1948. Les psychoses du postpartum: étude cyto-hormonale. Semaines d'Hôpitaux de Paris 24: 2891-2901.; "Epidemiology of puerperal psychoses", The British Journal of Psychiatry, May 1987, p. 662–73; Brockington I F (2014) What is Worth Knowing about 'Puerperal Psychosis'. Bredenbury, Eyry Press. A pdf of this limited edition can be obtained gratis on email ; "The Psychoses of Menstruation and Childbearing.", Cambridge University Press, 2017, p. 1–278; "https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/action/cookieAbse en.wikipedia.org
  8. Health, "Understanding Postpartum Psychosis: Beyond the Headlines - MGH Center for Women's Mental Health", 2026-08-05. facts only, no text reused. womensmentalhealth.org
  9. "When having a baby can cause you to 'lose your mind'", BBC News, 4 December 2011. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Postpartum psychosis (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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