Postpartum psychosis

Postnatal psychosis (also known as postpartum or puerperal psychosis) is a rare mental health condition that affects a small number of women (one or two in every 1000 mothers) in the first days or weeks after childbirth. For more really useful information on postpartum psychosis see the APP Network.

Postnatal psychosis is very serious as the mother may be at risk of harming herself or others, including her baby or other children. Recognising symptoms and seeking urgent professional assistance is essential.

Symptoms usually start quite suddenly within a few weeks after giving birth.

Postpartum psychosis can be an overwhelming and frightening experience for you and your loved ones, and it's important to seek help as soon as possible. With the right support, most women fully recover.

If you’re worried that yourself, or someone close to you may be suffering with postpartum psychosis, initially start by looking out for some of the symptoms listed below:

• Mania: feeling over-excited, elated or 'high', active, energetic, not needing to sleep, feeling agitated, restlessness, and irritable, with a busy mind or racing thoughts.
• Depressed or low mood or alternating rapidly between mood states.
  
• Hallucinations - hearing voices, seeing things or smelling smells that other people cannot perceive.
  
• Delusions - false beliefs that are firmly held, sometimes related to the baby, such as it is 'sent from God', or 'evil' in some way. Delusions, such as that the mother has won the lottery, that the TV or radio are referring to her, or that she has special healing powers, are not uncommon.
  
• Confusion, rapid or muddled thinking.
  
• A lack of insight - a woman experiencing this condition may be unaware that her behaviour is off in any way. Very often it will be other people who notice that she is behaving oddly and is not well.
  
• Delusions can frequently be paranoid in nature. Mums may believe that everyone (especially hospital staff and/or loved ones) are trying to harm her and/or her baby.
• Loss of inhibitions
• Behaviour that is out of character
• Feeling as if you are in a dream world

We know that talking about how you are feeling can often be very difficult, however, there is help out there. You do not have to feel like this. We hear that women often worry that they will be judged or seen to be ‘not coping’ - this is a common misconception. Health professionals are aware of how much bipolar can affect people can be during the perinatal period, and are able to support you and your family. There will be a range of treatment open to you.

Medication is an important part of the treatment for postpartum psychosis. It needs to be discussed with your GP and Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Team. Click here for further advice.

• Local Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Team (Hamphire tel: 01962 89 7780) (Dorset tel: 01202 584 329)
• Your GP
• Your local Health Visitor
• APP Network
• Hampshire Lanterns are a group of mums who have experienced mental health problems during pregnancy or after child birth. They aim to support each other via the internet and group meetings so that no mum should have to suffer alone.
• Baby Buddy is the multi-award winning free app that guides you through pregnancy, birth, parenting and beyond. You can explore the we.b version of Baby Buddy or download the full version of the app for free on the App Store and Google Play. There is a lot of information including videos about your physical and mental health.

Content adapted from Beyond Blue.