Postnatal psychiatric illness: the impact on partners.
Out of 24 spouses of women with postnatal psychiatric illness admitted to a mother and baby unit over 12 months, 12 were found to be psychiatrically ill, as defined by RDC or DSM-III criteria. The rate of psychiatric disorder was higher in these men than in a control group of men whose partners remained well after childbirth and a group of men whose partners were admitted to a psychiatric hospital with non-puerperal illness. The onset of psychiatric illness in the men typically followed admission of their wives to the mother and baby unit. Other associations with illness in the man were a history of chronic social problems, previous psychiatric episodes, and a poor relationship with his own father.
Lovestone
S
S
Institute of Psychiatry, Denmark Hill, London.
Kumar
R
R
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment