What is postnatal psychosis? The signs, symptoms and how to get help

After having a baby, around one in ten UK mothers will go on to experience postnatal depression (PND). This type of depression mainly sets in during the first four to six weeks after having the baby. But there is no set bench mark, with other women developing PND moths after birth.

Symptoms of PND can be masked by the general strains of becoming a new mother, or a mother again. Difficulty sleeping, feeling unable to cope and just feeling low are some of the symptoms. These feelings won’t go away on their own, but can be temporary and treated by a GP as long as the mother seeks help.

A severe form of PND, is the less commonly known postnatal psychosis. Also called puerperal psychosis, it can affect between one and two women in every 1,000 who give birth. It usually occurs during the first month after a mother has given birth and is more likely to develop in women with an existing mental health condition such as bipolar disorder.

The main symptoms of postnatal psychosis will be the mother having thoughts that they may harm themselves or their baby.

Boots health visitor, Angela Davey shares some information and help with us about what to do if you think a mother is developing postnatal psychosis.

Angela says: “Puerperal psychosis is a severe mental illness beginning a few days following childbirth and is regarded as an emergency situation. It is more prevalent in first-time mothers or women with bipolar disorder or a pre-disposing mental health problem . Approximately, one or two women in a thousand are affected.
 
“The first  sign that the mother may have this condition is signalled by her bizarre behaviour. She may be delusional, which means she has implausible thought processes like she has been abducted by aliens and her brains used in experiments or that the world is about to end so she must end her own life and that of the infant. She may have auditory hallucinations of voices that are not her own in her head. These voices may be loud, possibly screams of an offensive negative nature. Visual hallucinations accompany the auditory ones and she may think her baby is a devil child that has to be killed. Several things go through a mother’s mind during this illness. The mother may have fears that her baby will be taken away if she admits to having an illness. Infants are sometimes cared for by family members until the mother is well enough to look after the infant herself. They are rarely taken away from the mother long term.
 
“The mother needs help quickly from her doctor (GP) who will then make an urgent referral to a Psychiatrist within the mental health team. Often midwives and health visitors spot the signs and will refer the mother urgently to a specialist unit or to the woman’s GP.  Following an assessment of the severity of the condition there are two likely routes of care.  A specialist unit known as a Mother and Baby Unit may be the most obvious and preferred choice as both mother and baby remain together during treatment. There are only 8 units in the UK. The average stay at a unit is 6 weeks. If the unit is out of the region then the mother can be managed at home with regular visits from the mental health nurse, GP and possible social worker who specialises in mental health. 
 
“Drug therapy is started immediately known as anti-psychotics to stabilise the mood and counteract the hallucinations. This needs to be closely monitored since there is a tendency for it to have both a sedative and tranquillising effect, which may effect the mother’s ability to think rationally.
 
“Recovery is likely with appropriate drug therapy, regular mental health support and close contact with the partner, baby and close family members.”

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