title: Clinical characteristics and mental health outcomes for women admitted to an Australian Mother-Baby Unit: a focus on borderline personality disorder and emotional dysregulation?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the clinical population of women admitted to a Mother-Baby Unit in Adelaide, South Australia and to evaluate changes during admission in both Axes I and II diagnoses of maternal mental health, and in mother-infant relationships.
  
  
  METHODS
  Both clinical and self-report assessments of maternal mental health were made at admission and discharge, and self-report comparisons of the mother-infant relationship.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Depressive illnesses (46.2%) were found to be the most prevalent conditions leading to admission, with rates of psychosis (10.3%) and bipolar disorder (3.4%) being lower. A high incidence of borderline personality disorder (23.1%) was found clinically, with almost half the admitted women showing features of borderline personality disorder on a self-report measure at admission. Significant improvements in maternal mental health and the mother-infant relationship were found at the time of discharge.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Admission to this Mother-Baby Unit on mothers' self-report scales showed improvement in mothers' mental health and the relationship that they have with their infant. Given the high prevalence of borderline personality disorder and emotional dysregulation identified within the population, treatment implications and possible consequences for the infant are discussed for this client group.
authors.affiliation: Psychologist, Helen Mayo House, Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Service, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, SA, and; Clinical Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yelland
authors.affiliation: Parent-Infant Therapist, Helen Mayo House, Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Service, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Girke
authors.affiliation: Psychologist, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tottman
authors.affiliation: Director, Helen Mayo House, Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Service, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, SA, Australia Anne.SvedWilliams@health.sa.gov.au.
authors.forename: Anne Sved
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology; D013021:South Australia / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: affective disorder; borderline personality disorder; mother baby unit; mother–infant interaction; self-report