Postpartum psychosis: a study of indoor cases in a general hospital psychiatric clinic.
In a prospective study, 144 consecutive indoor cases of puerperal psychosis were assessed. Their mean age was 24.6 years. A past and a family history of psychosis was present in 12 cases each. According to RDC criteria, a majority of the patients had unspecified functional psychosis. A majority of the cases developed psychosis after the birth of a first child. Puerperal psychosis showed a positive correlation with the birth of a female child. Most of these cases developed psychiatric illness in the first 2 weeks after delivery. When the prevalence of symptoms in the study group was compared with the age- and disease-matched nonpuerperal controls, several differences were statistically significant.
Agrawal
P
P
Department of Psychiatry, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Smt. Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Bhatia
M S
MS
Malik
S C
SC
D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007902:Length of Stay; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis