{"id":12435,"date":"2011-04-01T13:19:17","date_gmt":"2011-04-01T12:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chopsybaby.com\/magazine\/?p=12435"},"modified":"2011-04-01T13:22:17","modified_gmt":"2011-04-01T12:22:17","slug":"what-is-postnatal-psychosis-the-signs-symptoms-and-how-to-get-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chopsybaby.com\/magazine\/what-is-postnatal-psychosis-the-signs-symptoms-and-how-to-get-help\/","title":{"rendered":"What is postnatal psychosis? The signs, symptoms and how to get help"},"content":{"rendered":"

After having a baby, around one in ten UK mothers will go on to experience postnatal depression <\/strong>(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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

A severe form of PND, is the less commonly known postnatal psychosis<\/strong>. Also called puerperal psychosis<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n

The main symptoms of postnatal psychosis will be the mother having thoughts that they may harm themselves or their baby.<\/p>\n

Boots health visitor, Angela Davey <\/strong>shares some information and help with us about what to do if you think a mother is developing postnatal psychosis.<\/p>\n

Angela says: \u201cPuerperal psychosis is a severe mental illness beginning a few days following childbirth and\u00a0is regarded as an emergency situation.\u00a0It is more prevalent in\u00a0first-time mothers or women with bipolar disorder or a pre-disposing mental health problem\u00a0.\u00a0Approximately, one or two women\u00a0in a thousand\u00a0are affected.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cThe first \u00a0sign\u00a0that the mother may have this condition is signalled by her\u00a0bizarre 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\u00a0world 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,\u00a0possibly 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\u00a0cared for by family members\u00a0until the mother is well enough to look after the infant herself. They are rarely taken away from the mother long term.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cThe mother needs help quickly from her doctor (GP)\u00a0who will then make an urgent referral to a Psychiatrist\u00a0within the mental health team.\u00a0Often midwives and health visitors spot the signs and will\u00a0refer the mother urgently to a specialist unit or to the woman’s GP.\u00a0\u00a0Following an assessment of the severity of the condition there are\u00a0two likely routes of care.\u00a0 A specialist unit known as a Mother and Baby Unit\u00a0may be the most obvious and preferred choice as both mother and baby remain together during treatment. There\u00a0are only\u00a08 units in the UK. The average stay at a unit is 6 weeks.\u00a0If the unit is\u00a0out 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.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cDrug 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\u00a0a sedative and tranquillising effect, which may effect the mother’s ability to think rationally.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cRecovery is likely with appropriate drug therapy, regular mental health support and close contact with the partner, baby and close family members.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back to main feature: chopsybaby.com\/magazine\/?p=12429<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After having a baby, around one in ten UK mothers will go on to experience postnatal depression (PND). This type<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to-deal-with-ghosts"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is postnatal psychosis? 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